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SERMONS: 



CHIEFLY OCCASIONAL 



B Y 



CHARLES LOWELL, 



SENIOR MINISTER OF THE WEST CBCRCH IN BOSTON 






7* 



BOSTON: 
TICKNOR AND FIELDS 

JJ UCCC LV. 






tot cowo* B,, l 
Wa»51*523S 






Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1855, by 

TICK NOR AND FIELDS, 

In the Clerk's OiTice of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts 



CAMBRIDGE: 
TBXRSTON AND TORRT, PRINTERS. 



DEDICATION 



TO CHARLES G. LORING, Esq. 

My dear friend, 

It is not the high rank you hold in the public estima- 
tion, but my affection for you, begun in your early life, 
and the constant proofs I have had of your friendship, 
which lead me to dedicate this volume to you. 

That you may long live, a blessing to the community 
in which you are so much honored, and to the friends 
who love you so well, is the fervent wish of 

Your sincerely attached friend, 

CHARLES LOWELL. 

Elmwood, January, 1855. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The intended publication of this volume was announced 
in the prefatory advertisement to the volume of Practical 
Sermons by the same author which has recently been 
published. 

These sermons are Occasional. Most of them were 
delivered on public occasions. Some of them were first 
printed many years since, and have been long out of 
print. Those which relate to the history of the parish 
with which the author is connected, were printed for the 
use of the parish, and were not published. This circum- 
stance will account for the minuteness of detail in the 
sermons and the notes appended to them. Additions have 
been made to several of them since they were first printed. 
In the notes to the Sermon on c Gospel Preaching' will be 
found some thoughts on Foreordination which may, per- 
haps, afford satisfaction to those readers whose minds may 
have been perplexed on this difficult subject. The fact 
that the sermons were originally published separately will 
account for the repetitions in the notes. In reading the 
notes, the reader must keep in mind the time*of the first 
publication, in order to fix the date of the facts recorded. 

The sermons on controversial subjects, especially those 
on the Trinitarian Controversy and the Christian Name, 
b 



VI ADVERTISEMENT. 

met with a response from the community which the author 
regarded as a powerful testimony to their truth. 

He has felt it to be his duty to take the Scriptures only 
as his creed, and to maintain his independence of all party 
connections. In these sermons he has given his reasons 
for it. 

If, in any of them, there is aught of undue severity, it 
is much regretted. There is certainly nothing of unkind- 
ness. The author has spoken plainly and emphatically, 
for he firmly believed and deeply felt what he uttered. 
He still believes and feels it. 

Elmwood, August 15, 1855. 



CONTENTS 



Sekmon. Page. 

I. The Characteristics op a Good Soldier . 3 

II. Ministerial Fidelity 21 

III. Retrospection ....... 38 

IV. The Goodness of God should lead to Repentance 81 
V. The Eye of God always upon us 94 

VI. Blood Guiltiness 99 

VII. The Duty and Responsibility of a Christian 

Minister 112 

VIII. The Name of Christian the only appropriate 

Name for Believers in Christ . . . 124 
IX. The Trinitarian Controversy . . . 142 
X. Union in Sentiment among Christians not Es- 
sential to Peace 185 

XI. Theology and not Religion the cause of Divis- 
ion and Strife in the Christian Church . 206 
XII. The World Passeth Away .... 229 
XIII. Men Accountable only to God for their The- 
ological Opinions 249 

XIV. Gospel Preaching ...... 266 

XV. Brief Review of a Ministry of forty years 289 
XVI. Letter in reference to the state of Educa- 
tion in Greece in 1839 320 



SEEMONS. 



VOL. I. 



NOTE 



The author has given the precedence to this sermon on account of 
its priority, in time, to the others in the volume ; and not on account 
of any complacency he feels towards the subject of it. 

War, unless strictly defensive, — is as much opposed to the spirit 
and pre6epts of the gospel, as it is to reason and humanity. But if, 
through the lusts and passions of men, through pride, ambition or 
cupidity, war cometh, it is well that they who are the instruments 
of warfare should possess the characteristics described in this dis- 
course ; that they should resemble the leader of the hosts of Israel 
and the * devout centurion,' who was eminent for his patriotism and 
piety, and was honored in being made the first convert to Christi- 
anity in the Gentile world. 



SERMON I. 



[Preached at the Annual Artillery Election, 1810.] 

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 
2 Samuel, x. 12. — be of good courage, and let us play the men 

FOR OUR PEOPLE, AND FOR THE CITIES OF ODR GOD *. AND THE LORD 
DO THAT WHICH SEEMETH HIM GOOD. 

The kingdom of Christ is not of this world. It 
is heavenly and spiritual. It is erected and main- 
tained by supernatural means, and its interests are 
never promoted by the use of worldly weapons. 
The gospel of Christ is not of this world. Its char- 
acter is gentle, its features are mild, its spirit is 
a spirit of peace. It breathes the most diffusive 
benevolence, inculcates the most sincere good will, 
and enforces, by the examples it presents for imi- 
tation, the exercise of the most kind and friendly 
offices among the children of men. 

Were the spirit of the gospel universally preva- 
lent, ambition, avarice, envy, and every source of 
disquiet and misery would vanish ; and the world 
we inhabit would be transformed from a scene of 



4 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 

violence and an abode of contention, into the habi- 
tation of peace, tranquillity and happiness. 

Such, however, is the nature of fallen man, so 
much is he swayed by his evil propensities and 
passions, and so little is he influenced by the pure, 
benign and peaceable temper which the gospel 
enjoins, that l wars and fightings will come.' We 
must i hear the sound of the trumpet and the 
alarm of war.' We must ' gird on the sword and 
prepare the instruments of battle.' Nor does the 
word of God prohibit such preparation ; neither 
does it forbid our engaging in actual hostilities 
when employed in self -defence. 

The love of life is one of the most vigorous 
principles in our nature, and those dispositions and 
instincts which tend to its preservation, may be dis- 
covered long before the operations of reason. This 
love of life, implanted by the hand of God, is, in 
effect, fostered and cherished by Divine revelation. 
That ' no man ever yet ever hated his own flesh, but 
nourisheth and cherisheth it,' is assumed as a maxim 
by an inspired apostle, and is urged as a motive for 
the discharge of our duties to those with whom we 
are most nearly connected. 

' The life of governments is like that of a man. 
The latter has a right to kill in case of natural de- 
fence; the former have a right to wage war for 
their own preservation.' * This axiom, also, is virtu- 
ally sanctioned by the word of God. The language 
of our Saviour, ' If my kingdom were of this world, 
then would my servants fight,' implies the lawful- 

* Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, Vol. 1, Book x. 



THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. O 

ness of taking up arms in defence of a temporal 
kingdom. 

The words of our text were the words of Joab, 
the general of David, previous to an engagement 
with the Ammonites, who had invaded the land of 
Canaan, and threatened destruction to the house of 
Israel. Joab appears to have been peculiarly well 
qualified for the. office to which he had been ap- 
pointed by his sovereign. He was courageous, yet 
prudent ; he had a proper sense of the importance 
of his command, and an humble trust in the power 
and protection of the Almighty. The army he was 
opposing was larger than his own, and by a favor- 
able disposition of its forces, had contrived to sur- 
round him. Being thus in the midst of his enemies, 
he thought it prudent to divide his army, taking 
upon himself the command of one part, and com- 
mitting the other part to his brother Abishai, to 
whom he delivered the animating address in the 
text. ' Be of good courage, and let us play the 
men for our people, and for the cities of our God ; 
and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.' 

These words lead our attention to three impor- 
tant requisites in the character of a good soldier : 
courage, patriotism, and piety. 

1. ' Be of good courage, and let us play the men? 
Courage is essential to the character of a good sol- 
dier. I do not mean that courage which is derived 
from mere animal constitution ; from a desire of 
worldly applause ; from a deference to worldly 
opinions ; or from an obedience to the dictates of 
1* 



6 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 

pride. I do not mean a savage violence ; an indis- 
creet impetuosity ; a thoughtless temerity ; a hardy 
insensibility of danger. I do not mean merely a 
mechanical courage, which is obtained by acting in 
a crowd, or by a hope that we may escape, because 
many have escaped around us. I do not mean a 
courage which is acquired by habit, and which will 
enable the mind on some occasions to preserve it- 
self erect and undismayed in the midst of danger, 
while, on other occasions, it is totally destitute of 
firmness. I do not mean a courage which springs 
from the principles of fatalism, — from a conviction 
that it is entirely unnecessary to be careful of our 
lives, since, at the appointed time, death will come, 
and render all our care unavailing. 

I mean a much more noble and dignified senti- 
ment ; an effort of the mind which overcomes a 
sense of danger ; a courage founded upon reason, 
judgment, and religious trust ; a steady, prudent, 
deliberate courage ; a serene, manly, persevering 
courage ; a courage which resolves to be found in 
the path of duty, whatever obstacles may impede 
its progress ; a courage ever vigilant in guarding 
against surprise, ever diligent in concerting means 
of safety, ever resolute in prosecuting measures of 
defence. This, my friends, is the courage which 
should animate the heart of a soldier. This is the 
courage which should prompt him to ' stand in his 
lot,' and to present his breast as a bulwark for the 
protection of his country. 

Without courage, it is of little importance that a 



THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 7 

soldier is invested with a military garb, or that he 
bears the instruments of war. The military garb, 
when it covers the heart of a coward, will but serve 
to adorn the triumph of an enemy ; and the instru- 
ments of war which are borne by a trembling arm, 
will only be an incumbrance to him who would seek 
his safety in flight. 

A soldier, then, should cultivate the courage we 
have just described. To this end, he should ac- 
quaint himself thoroughly with the duties of his 
profession, he should accustom himself to contem- 
plate, in imagination, scenes of danger, and, above 
all, he should endeavor to preserve ' a conscience 
void of offence toward God and toward men.' 

2. In the second place, we mentioned patriotism 
as essentially requisite to the character of a good 
soldier. i Let us play the men for our people, and 
for the cities of our God.' 

The love of our country, if not an original prin- 
ciple, soon becomes blended with all our sentiments, 
and closely interwoven with our best affections. As 
we advance in life, it is strengthened by association. 
We identify our friends, the scenes of our childhood 
and youth, in short, all our enjoyments with our 
country. If we are called to leave it, and to sojourn 
in a strange land, we feel, in some measure, as the 
Hebrews felt in the land of their captivity, when 
they hung their harps upon the willows ; and are 
ready to exclaim as they did, ' If I forget thee, O 
Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If 
I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the 



8 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 

roof of my mouth.' This love of our country is 
hallowed by the graves of our fathers who have 
mingled with its dust, and of the heroes who have 
died in its defence. It is sanctioned by the precepts 
of our religion, which inculcate an affection for our 
brethren, and by the example of our Saviour who 
wept when he adverted to the miseries which were 
coming upon Jerusalem. It is enforced by the ben- 
efits we have received from our country, and which 
we are bound to repay by an attention to its in- 
terests. 

This noble passion, however, is sometimes weak- 
ened . by feelings of selfishness, those very feelings 
which ought in reality to bind the welfare of our 
country more closely to our hearts. Disappointed 
expectations, or a desire to obtain favors, to which 
neither merit nor services entitle him, may, some- 
times, prompt a man to stifle the reproaches of his 
conscience, and to set himself in opposition to the 
real interests of his country. Such a man may have 
a great deal of patriotism in his mouth, when there 
is very little of it in his heart. He may be loud in 
his protestations of affection for his country, and ar- 
dent love for his fellow-citizens, while his affections 
are really placed upon the honors or emoluments of 
office, and his love, in the end, centres only in him- 
self. Such a man may be lavish of his professions, 
and magnificent in his promises. But, my friends, 
those who believe his professions, and confide in his 
promises, will find themselves miserably deceived. 
When his object is attained, the promises are for- 



THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 9 

gotten, cr remembered only if it is his interest to 
remember them. 

A true patriot, on the contrary, is, in a great 
measure, disinterested. He is modest in his pre- 
tensions, and invites the confidence of his fellow- 
citizens more by his actions than his professions. 

If his expectations of promotion are disappoint- 
ed, he discovers the spirit which animated the 
generous Spartan Pcederatus, who, when he was 
excluded from the noble band of heroes that was 
chosen to defend the pass at Thermopylae, returned 
home exulting that there were found in Sparta 
three hundred citizens more worthy than himself.* 
If he is placed in a situation evidently below his 
deserts, or inferior to one he had before occupied, 
he thinks as Plutarch thought, when he was nom- 
inated scavenger of the city, that no office is too 
mean by which he can serve the republic. 

In the magistrate, patriotism discovers itself by 
an open, impartial, magnanimous policy ; a superi- 
ority to party views, feelings and attachments ; a dis- 
interested, vigilant attention to the interests of the 
whole community. In the citizen, it discovers itself 
by a quiet submission to lawful authority, a candid 
interpretation of the conduct of his rulers, and a 
disposition to make every allowance for the diffi- 
culties attending their station, and the infirmities 
inseparable from human nature ; but, at the same 
time, a firm resolution, steadily, though temperately, 
to oppose the least violation of his rights, or en- 
croachment upon his privileges. In the soldier, it 

* Plutarch. 



10 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 

discovers itself by a determination to retain his 
sword in its scabbard till it is drawn forth at the 
call of his country, and then, to use it only in de- 
fence of that liberty which hath been bequeathed 
to him by his fathers. To a soldier, indeed, the 
feelings of patriotism are peculiarly important. If 
he is fired with sacred love for his country, he will 
think no service too hard, no labor too great, no pri- 
vation too painful, by which he can preserve its 
rights or promote its interests. If, on the contrary, 
he is destitute of this love for his country, he will 
abuse the confidence reposed in him, and will, prob- 
ably, attempt to subvert the liberties he is bound to 
defend. A soldier, then, in addition to courage, 
should cherish a spirit of patriotism, that, if the 
peace of his country is interrupted, or unusual dan- 
ger demands his exertions, he may go forth with his 
whole heart, and prosper. 

In the third place, we mentioned piety as an 
essential requisite in the character of a good soldier. 
' Be of good courage, and let us play the men for 
our people, and for the cities of our God ; and the 
Lord do that which seemeth him good.' 

The providence of God, which superintends and 
directs the affairs of the universe, should be humbly 
acknowledged and devoutly reverenced by every 
rational being. The nations of antiquity, the history 
of whose warlike achievements early engages the 
attention, and excites the admiration of every culti- 
vated mind, recognized, amidst the splendor of their 
conquests, a superior being to whom they attributed 



THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 11 

the success of their arms. To secure his assistance, 
and to propitiate his favor in the day of battle, al- 
tars were erected, the fire was kindled, the incense 
ascended, and the victims of superstition were of- 
fered in sacrifice. The God whom they ignorantly 
worshipped, hath been declared unto us, and instead 
of the victims which they slew before the ' host went 
forth to battle, and the vows by which they at- 
tempted to purchase the favor of their gods, we are 
taught to substitute a more rational service, to offer 
to our God the humble homage of the heart, and 
to ' worship him in spirit and in truth.' 

But the piety which we consider as essential to 
the character of a good soldier, is something more 
than a belief in the providence of God, and a sense 
of dependence upon it. It consists in holy and 
well regulated affections, in a heart purified from 
vice, in a life devoted to the practice of godliness. 
It is not a momentary impulse, which prompts a 
man only in the hour of danger to lift up his trem- 
bling voice to God. It is a constant, uniform prin- 
ciple, which pervades every part of the conduct, 
and influences every action of the life. 

This piety is the strength and security of a 
country. It preserves the people in an attachment 
to the constitution, and a submission to the laws ; 
it promotes public and private virtue; it inspires 
courage in the hour of danger ; it forms the minds 
of the defenders of a country to fortitude, activity 
and perseverance. 

Piety is the brightest ornament, and the most 



12 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 

secure armor of a soldier. Protected by the shield 
of faith, and wearing the helmet of salvation, he is 
independent of every event that can befall him. 
Though he may not be able, like a pious hero of 
old, to arrest the sun in his course, or to bid the 
moon stand still till he has accomplished the de- 
struction of his enemies, yet his path will be irra- 
diated by the sun of a good conscience, and cheered 
by the mild lustre of the promises and hopes of 
the gospel. Prepared for every vicissitude, he goes 
forth to the field of battle without dismay, and 
looking for a brighter recompense than his country 
can bestow, he views the king of terrors as the 
harbinger of glory. 

Such, my brethren, are the principles and feelings 
which give strength to the arm, and intrepidity to 
the heart of a soldier, which fit him for the faithful 
discharge of his duty in the present state of warfare, 
and for the rewards of a good soldier of Jesus 
Christ, in the regions of immortality. 

It is a subject for devout and fervent gratitude? 
that, whilst the modern Attila, with the besom of 
destruction, is sweeping away almost every thing 
that is venerable from the continent of Europe, and 
there exists but one asylum of liberty and virtue in 
that quarter of the globe, our country is yet beyond 
the reach of the destroyer, and our ancient institu- 
tions are yet preserved. Among them,* we recog- 

* The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company was formed in 
1637, and incorporated in 1.638, only ten years after the Mass t achu- 
setts colony was founded. 



THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 13 

nize, with, pleasure, the Honorable Association, 
whose anniversary election gives cheerfulness and 
splendor to this day. We offer you our congratu- 
lations, gentlemen, and we rejoice that you are dis- 
posed to mingle the exercises of religion with your 
appropriate duties on this occasion. You have 
caught the mantle, and in this respect, as well as 
in many others, have imbibed, I trust, the spirit of 
your fathers. They received every blessing with 
thanksgiving, and sanctified it by prayer. 

You have heard an imperfect account of some of 
the most important requisites in a good soldier. 
You are, doubtless, better acquainted with your 
duties than I am, and will consider my discourse 
as intended merely to ' stir up your minds by way of 
remembrance. 5 

Let me beseech you, in conclusion, whilst you 
cherish that courage which is founded upon reason, 
and matured by reflection, to beware of that base, 
degenerate, impious courage, which braves the ven- 
geance of the Almighty, whilst it < trembles at the 
frown of fools.' It is the child of pride, it is fos- 
tered by revenge, it is attended by every malignant 
passion, its object is murder, and its end, if unre- 
pented of, — destruction. 

To excite your abhorrence of the crime of duel- 
ling, shall I describe the dreadful effects which result 
from it in this life ? Shall I bring before you the 
aged father, bereft, at once, of the only earthly prop 
of his declining years ? Shall I paint the situation 
of the widowed mother and her fatherless children, 

VOL. I. 2 



14 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER 

deprived, in a moment, by the tempest of passion, 
of the bark to which they trusted their little all — 
and the wreck — total ? Shall I — No, — you are 
men, you are Christians. Discourage this practice 
by your example. Publicly proclaim your detesta- 
tion of this species of murder. You are first in age, 
be first in this, and in every good work. If your 
example is followed, you will enjoy a satisfaction 
which I need not attempt to describe ; if not, you 
will have the applauses of the wise and good, and, 
what is infinitely more " important, the testimony of 
your own consciences, and the approbation of your 
God. 

On this day, whilst we call up to remembrance 
the departed heroes who have been enrolled on your 
records, the image of the venerable Lincoln * rises to 
our view, associated in our recollection with every 
thing that is honorable. 

Illustrious hero ! Christian soldier ! whilst thy 
country has a place upon the map of nations, the 
memory of thy deeds shall not perish. Thy name 
is associated in thy country's annals with the name 
of Washington, whose fame, pure as it is brilliant, 
shall be handed down for the admiration of every 
age. Thy conflict is now over; thy warfare is 
ended ; and we trust thou art at rest in the bosom 
of thy God. 



* Gen. Lincoln commanded the company in 1788, and was chosen 
Lieut. Governor the same year. He died at Hingham, May 9, 1810, 
aged 78. 



THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SOLDIER. 15 

Gentlemen, your predecessors were illustrious. 
Endeavor to tread in their footsteps. Emulate 
their courage, their patriotism, their piety. Ever 
preserve that elevation of sentiment, and true dig- 
nity of conduct, which become you as citizens of a 
free country, members of one of its most ancient 
institutions, and successors of some of the ablest 
defenders of its rights. Would you be clad in com- 
plete armor ? c Gird yourselves with truth, and put 
on the breast-plate of righteousness.' You may 
then, without apprehension, obey the voice of your 
country whenever it calls you to the post of danger. 
Should you return victorious, that country would 
hail you as her benefactors, and crown you with 
her applause. Should you fall, the grace of God 
would soothe the moments of your dissolution, and 
the Spirit of God would descend with consolation 
and whisper peace to your souls. Amen. 



APPENDIX. 



List of those who have preached on this anniversary, from 1659 
to 1810, as far as known. 



By whom. 

1659 John Norton, 

1660 Whiting, sen. 

1661 Samuel Ward, 

1662 Higginson, 

1666 Edmund Brown, 

1667 Samuel Danforth, 

1668 John Wilson, 

1669 Samuel Torrey, 

1670 John Oxenbridge, 

1671 Thomas Thacher, 

1672 Urian Oakes, 

1673 Seaborn Cotton, 

1674 Joshua Moody, 

1675 Samuel Phillips, 

1676 Samuel Willard, 

1677 Josiah Flynt, 

1678 Samuel Nowell, 

1679 Ed. Belknap, 

1680 William Adams, 

1681 John Richardson, 

1682 Samuel Whiting, 

1683 John Hales, 

1684 Samuel Cheever, 

1685 Joshua Moody, 

An intermission of five 
2# 



Of what place. Text. 

Boston. 
Lynn. 
Ipswich. 
Salem. 

Roxbury. 

Boston. 

Weymouth. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. * Rom. viii. 37* 

Hampton. 

[Portsmouth.] 



Boston. 
Dorchester. 



[Dedham.] 



Proverbs iv. 23. 



Gen. iv. 14. 



Luke iii. 14. 



Marblehead. Heb. ii. 10. 
[Boston.] Prov. xvi. 32. 

years, under Sir Ed. Andros' Government. 



IS 


APPENDIX. 




By whom. Of what place. 


Text. 


1691 Cotton Mather, 


Boston. 




1692 John Bailey, 


Watertown. 




1693 John Danforth, 


Dorchester, 




1694 Moses Fiske, 


Braintree. 




1695 Peter Thacher, 


Milton. 




1696 Michael Wigglesworth 


, Maiden. 




1697 Nehemiah Walter, 


Roxbury. 




1698 Joseph Belcher, 


Dedham. 


1 Cor. ix. 26, 27. 


1699 Samuel Willard, 


Boston. 


1 Kings, ix. 22. 


1700 Benjamin Wadsworth, 


, Boston. 


Isaiah iii. 2. 


1701 Ebenezer Pemberton, 


Boston. 


Luke iii. 14. 


1702 Benjamin Colman, 


Boston. 


Heb. xi. 33. 


1703 Grindall Rawson, 


Mendon. 


Ephes. vi. 11. 


1704 Henry Gibbs, 


Watertown. 


Ps. xliv. 6. 


1705 Thomas Bridge, 


Boston. 


Daniel xi. 32. 


1706 Rowland Cotton, 


[Sandwich.] 


Matt. xi. 12. 


1707 Cotton Mather, 


Boston. 




1708 Samuel Danforth, 


Taunton. 


Heb. xii. 4. 


1709 Ebenezer Pemberton, 


Boston, 




1710 Increase Mather, 


Boston. 


Joshua i. 7. 


1711 Nehemiah Walter, 


Roxbury. 


Acts v. 39. 


1712 Peter Thacher, 


Weymouth. 


1 Sam. xviii. 14. 


1713 Samson Stoddard, 


Chelmsford. 


1 Sam. ii. 2d part of 30 v. 


1714 Joseph Sewall, 


Boston. 


Rev. xix. 14. 


1715 Joseph Stevens, 


Charlestown. 


Isaiah ii. 4. 


1716 Joseph Baxter, 


Medfield. 


Rom. viii. 37. 


1717 Thomas Blowers, 


Beverly. 


1 Sam. xvi. 18. 


1718 John Barnard, 


Marblehead. 


Rev. iii. 21. 


1719 John Webb, 


Boston. 


Eccles. viii. 8. 


1720 Thomas Symmes, 


Bradford. 


1 Chron. xii. 33. 


1721 Thomas Prince, 


Boston. 


Ps. cxxii. 6 


1722 William Cooper, 


Boston. 


Ps. xlv. 3-5. 


1723 Thomas Foxcroft, 


Boston. 


1 Chron. v. 18-20. 


1724 Ebenezer Thayer, 


Roxbury. 


1 Tim. vi. 12. 


1725 Samuel Checkley, 


Boston. 


2 Sam. xxii. 35. 


1726 John Swift, 


Framingham 


. Acts x. 7. 


1727 William Waldron, 


Boston. 


2 Sam. x. 12. 


1728 Ebenezer Gay, 


Hingham. 


Zech. i. 8. 


1729 William Wilsteed, 


Boston. 


Isaiah lv. 4. 



APPENDIX. 



19 



By whom. Of what place. 

1730 John Hancock, Lexington. 

1731 James Allin, Brookline. 

1732 Oliver Peabody, Natick. 

1733 Nathaniel Appleton, Cambridge. 

1734 Charles Chauncy, Boston. 

1735 Hull Abbot, Charlestown. 

1736 Peter Clark, Salem Village. 

1737 William Williams, Weston. 

1738 Benjamin Colman, Boston. 

1739 Samuel Mather, Boston. 

1740 Mather Byles, Boston. 

1741 Samuel Phillips, Andover. 

1742 John Taylor, Milton. 

1743 William Hooper, Boston. 

1744 Joseph Parsons, Bradford. 

1745 Thomas Prentice, Charlestown. 

1746 Nathaniel Walter, Roxbury. 

1747 William Hobb, Reading. 

1748 Samuel Dunbar, Stoughton. 

1749 Ellis Gray, Boston. 

1750 Andrew Elliot, Boston. 

1751 Samuel Cooper, Boston. 

1752 Ebenezer Bridge, Chelmsford. 

1753 Samuel Cooke, Cambridge. 

1754 Samuel Porter, Sherburne. 

1755 Thaddeus Maccarty, Worcester. 

1756 Ebenezer Pemberton, Boston. 

1757 Samuel Checkley, jr., Boston. 

1758 Thomas Barnard, Salem. 

1759 Amos Adams, Roxbury. 

1760 Josiah Sherman, Woburn. 

1761 Jason Haven, Dedham. 

1762 Samuel Locke, Sherburne. 

1763 Thomas Balch, Dedham. 

1764 Samuel Woodward, Weston. 

1765 Gad Hitchcock, Pembroke. 

1766 John Brown, Hingham. 

1767 Daniel Shute, Hingham. 



Text. 

Prov. xx i. 31. 
Ephes. vi. 12, 13. 
2 Sam. i. 18. 
James iv. 1. 
Judges xviii. 27, 28. 
Exod. xv. 3. 
1 Cor. xvi. 13. 
Pedes, ix. 18. 
Is liah xi. 10. 
1 Sam. xvii. 39. 

1 Sam. xvii. 45. 
Judges v. 18. 
Pi-overbs xvi. 32. 
G.ilatians vi. 4. 

2 Sam. xvii. 8. 
Isaiah lxiii. 1. 
2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. 
Ps. lxxviii. 9, 10. 
Heb. xi. 32, 33, 34. 
Micah iv. 3, 4. 

2 Chron. vi. 7, 8. 
2 Kings, v. 1. 
Acts x. 1, 2. 
1 Sam. xvii. 38, 39. 
Rom. xii. 18. 
Ps. lxviii. 30. 
Heb. xi. 34. 
Isaiah xiii. 4, 5. 
Isaiah liv. 16, 17. 
Matt. x. 34. 
Ps. cxlix. 6. 
Prov. xvi. 32. 

Daniel iv. 35. 



Eccles. ix. 18. 



20 



APPENDIX. 



By whom. Of what place. Text. 

1768 Jonas Clark, Lexington. 2 Chron. xvii. 16 

1769 Phillips Payson, Chelsea. Ps. cxliv. 1. 

1770 Samuel Stillman, Boston. 2 Tim. ii. 3. 

1771 Eli Forbes, Brookfield. Exod. xv.3. 

1772 Nathaniel Bobbins, Milton. Ps. cxxii. 8. 

1773 Simeon Howard, Boston. Gal. v. 1. 

1774 John Lathrop, Boston. Rom. xii. 18. 

No sermon preached from 1775 to 1786, inclusive. 



1787 John Clarke, 

1788 David Osgood, 

1789 Thomas Barnard, 

1790 Jonathan Homer, 

1791 Samuel Parker, 

1792 Joseph Eckley, 

1793 Peter Thacher, 

1794 Samuel West, 

1795 John T. Kirkland, 

1796 William Bentley, 

1797 Henry Ware, 

1798 iNathaniel Thayer, 

1799 William Emerson, 

1800 David Kellogg, 

1801 John S. Popkin, 

1802 Abiel Abbot, 

1803 Jedidiah Morse, 

1804 Joseph Tucker man, 



Boston. 

Medford. 

Salem. 

Milton. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Salem. 

Hingham. 

Lancaster. 

Harvard. 



Isaiah iv. 5. 

Isaiah xi. 13. 

1 Chron. xii. 33. 

Ps. lxxxv. 5. 
Judges xviii. 7. 

2 Tim. ii. 2. 
Ps. lxxvi. 10. 
Prov. xxx. 5, 6. 
1 Cor. xii. 25. 
Prov. xvi. 32. 
Ps. cxlix. 6. 



Framingham. Judges vii. 18. 



Boston. 
Haverhill. 
Charles town. 
Chelsea. 



1805 Thaddeus M. Harris, Dorchester. 

1806 James Kendall, Plymouth. 

1807 Thomas Baldwin, Boston. 

1808 Leonard Woods, Newbury. 

1809 John Foster, Brighton. 

1810 Charles Lowell, Boston. 



Neh. iv. 17. 
Eph. v. 29. 
Ps. lxxvii. 5. 
Matt. xi. 19. 

1 Pet. i. 10, 11. 

2 Chron. xxxii. 5- 
Mark xiii. 7. 
Heb. ii. 10. 
Prov. xxiv. 6. 

2 Sam. x. 12. 



8. 



It appears, from this list, which, it is believed, is the most com- 
plete one ever published, that no two preachers have taken the same 
text till the present year, and in this case it was unintentional and 
might have been avoided. The fact is not a little remarkable. 



SERMON II. 



[At an Ordination in Bridge-water, 1821 ] 

MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

Acts XX. 20. 1 KEPT BACK NOTHING THAT WAS PROFITABLE UNTO 

YOU, BUT HAVE SHEWED YOU, AND HAVE TALGHT YOU PUBLICLY; 
A.ND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 

It was a faithful minister, an eminent apostle of 
Jesus Christ, who spake the w T ords I have now read 
to you. They were addressed by him to the elders 
of Ephesus, in a solemn and affecting interview, 
when he was about to separate from them for the 
last time. In a brief review of his ministry among 
them, he calls them to witness that he had been 
faithful to his Master, and to them ; that he had not 
shunned to declare to them the whole counsel of 
God, in as far as it could be profitable to them, and 
that now, when they were to see his face no more, 
he could go up to Jerusalem without apprehension, 
and sustain, unmoved, the bonds and afflictions that 
awaited him, as he was pure from the blood of all 
men. 



22 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

This eminent apostle has furnished an example 
which is worthy the imitation of every Christian 
minister. Happy are they who have drawn from 
the same source a portion of the same spirit ; happy 
they who can tread, though with halting, unequal 
steps, the path he has traced for them, and who 
never lose sight of him, though far behind him in 
the race of glory. 

The recollections which this day excites, and the 
prospects which it opens, forcibly admonish minis- 
ters to be cautious how they teach, and hearers to 
take heed how they hear. The former, as they are 
allowed to be put in trust ivith the gospel, are so to 
speak not as pleasing men, but God who trieth the 
hearts ; and the latter, as this gospel is delivered to 
them, also, are to receive with meekness and candor 
the ingrafted vjord, that it may save their souls. An 
awful retribution awaits the unfaithful teacher, and 
the careless, negligent, unprofitable hearer. They 
have a mutual interest in the fidelity of the one, 
and in the attention and improvement of the other. 
Miserable indeed must be that minister w T ho, through 
fear, shuns to declare to his people the whole coun- 
sel of God, or keeps back anything which he believes 
might be profitable to therti ; and miserable the 
condition of the people who have such a minister. 
In the view of the responsibility connected with 
the ministerial office, the unspeakably powerful 
motives to fidelity, I tremble when I hear ministers, 
of whatever persuasion, denounced as unfaithful, 
I tremble for those who utter the denunciation. 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 23 

What a fearful responsibility do they assume in 
thus sitting in judgment on their Christian breth- 
ren ! 

Of what may be profitable to his people, a min- 
ister must himself eventually be the judge, and for 
the correctness of his decision, he is answerable, 
not to his brethren in the ministry, nor to the 
Christian community, but to his Master in heaven. 
That he may rightly judge, he must make himself 
acquainted with the word of God, with the neces- 
sities of those who are committed to his charge, 
with the state of society in which they mingle, the 
temptations to which they are exposed, the prevail- 
ing vices of the age in which they live, and he 
should honestly and strenuously oppose everything 
that may defeat the end of his preaching, and en- 
danger their salvation. 

He has the principles and maxims of the world 
to contend with ; he has self-interest, and passion, 
and prejudice, and evil propensities to oppose ; he 
has pride, and ambition, and covetousness, and 
irreligion, and licentiousness, to assail ; and he must 
do it at every risk. He must speak boldly and 
without reserve ; he must cry aloud and spare not, 
as he would secure to himself the consciousness of 
fidelity, and approve himself to God, a faithful 
steward who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
dividing the ivord of truth. 

Yet he should speak the truth in love. He 
should never free himself from that restraint of de- 
corum which is due to his station, and that respect 



24 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

which is due to his people. He should never employ 
the pulpit as an asylum, where, without danger of 
contradiction or control, he may pour forth his 
invectives ; where that mild religion which ought 
to correct his temper and check his passion, is per- 
verted to sanctify opprobrious, abusive language. 
Then, indeed, he exposes his character, and prosti- 
tutes his office. A minister may be warm and 
earnest, — God forbid that he should not be so! — 
on subjects the most momentous which can engage 
the attention of mortals, but it should be the warmth 
of an honest, enlightened, affectionate zeal; the 
earnestness of one who deeply feels the truth he 
teaches, and is ' anxious mainly that the flock he 
feeds should feel them too.' 

The design of our Saviour's mission was to ad- 
vance the moral improvement of mankind. He 
came, indeed, to reveal to us doctrines the most 
sublime, to inculcate precepts the most pure, to 
exhibit an example the most holy, to make propiti- 
ation for the sins of the world, and by his doctrines, 
his precepts, his example, his death and resurrec- 
tion, to bring life and immortality to light, and 
place them within the reach of all believers. But 
the end of all was the moral perfection of those to 
whom he was sent, without which, his doctrines, 
and precepts, and example, and death and resurrec- 
tion, can be of no avail to us. It was to purify 
unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. 
It was to promote holiness ; and, as without holi- 
ness no man shall see the Lord, so with it, no one 
can possibly fail of this blessedness. 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 25 

To promote holiness is the end of the Christian 
ministry, and should be the great object of the 
labors of the Christian minister. He must not be 
censured, then, if holiness be the frequent, may I 
not say, the invariable theme of his preaching. He 
may please the imaginations of his hearers by 
flights of fancy; he may exercise their minds, and 
discover his own ingenuity by theoretical specula- 
tions and abtruse disquisitions, but he best answers 
and fulfils the design of his ministry when he 
beseeches them, in Christ's stead, to be reconciled 
to God, when he presents to them the bright pat- 
tern of the Redeemer's life, and urges their imita- 
tion of it. 

He is bound, indeed, to elucidate as far as he is 
able, and may deem useful, the doctrines of the gos- 
pel, but the gospel itself, as a comprehensive whole, 
is a doctrine according to godliness, and no eluci- 
dation need be attempted by which this is not 
promoted. We assemble, ordinarily, but one day 
in seven in the house of God. We are then 
engaged but a few hours in its services, and it is 
worse than useless to employ any portion of that 
time on points of doubtful disputation, or in specu- 
lations on subjects which, after all our investiga- 
tion, are far, far beyond our reach. Canst thou by 
searching find out God ? Canst thou find out the 
Almighty unto perfection ? It is higher than heaven, 
what canst thou know ? 

Nay, I go further, — if I may be allowed for a 
moment to digress, — except to those who have 

VOL. L 3 



28 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

abundance of leisure, or whose profession seems to 
require it, — it is worse than useless, at any time, 
to engage in such discussions, and it is time mis- 
spent to read them. The bible purports to be, and 
is as it purports to be, a revelation of the will of 
God concerning his creature man. It follows, as a 
necessary consequence, that that will is clearly and 
distinctly made known to us. It purports to be 
our guide, and our only sure guide, to life and im- 
mortality. It follows, as a necessary consequence, 
that its directions must be plain, intelligible and 
explicit. If this were not the case, what would 
become of those whose capacities are limited, whose 
means of improvement are few and contracted, and 
who have no access to an interpreter of scripture? 
Must they be bewildered for want of a better guide 
than the word of God ? Must they be lost for 
want of a chart which is sketched with brighter 
lines, and marked with clearer characters than that 
which God has given them ? It cannot be. No 
clouds and darkness overhang the path to heaven. 
It is sketched as with a sunbeam ; it is clear, and 
fair, and beautiful as the milky way, which cannot 
be overlooked amidst the splendor of the starry 
firmament. 

It is the glory of our religion that it is adapted 
as well to the capacities, as to the situation and 
wants of all. It was at the head of that beautiful 
climax, by which our Saviour communicated to the 
disciples of John the design and effect of his mis- 
sion, that he placed this most interesting fact, the 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 27 

poor have the gospel preached unto them. ; Go tell 
John what things ye have seen and heard, how that 
the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have 
the gospel preached unto them? 

Yes, the poor, the illiterate, they who can obtain 
no other book than the bible, and perhaps even for 
that must be indebted to Christian charity, — they 
who have no time to read any other book than the 
bible, still less books of theological controversy, — 
these have the gospel preached unto them. That 
single volume, that 'book of books,' as its very 
name imports, with no better capacity than God 
has given them, and with no other guide than that 
Holy Spirit which indited what they read, is able 
to make them wise unto salvation. 

Who has not witnessed its sanctifying, consoling, 
animating influence on those who never heard of 
the subjects of controversy which have so much 
agitated the Christian w T orld, who believed only 
that their bible was the word of God, who found 
in that a Saviour, and, like the treasurer of Ethio- 
pia, however rugged the path, or inhospitable the 
desert through which they passed, went on their 
way rejoicing. 

In the example of the apostle Paul, the Christian 
minister has a pattern of private as well as public 
fidelity in the discharge of the duties of the minis- 
terial office. i I kept back nothing that was profit- 
able to you, but have shewed you, and have taught 
you publicly, and from house to house? Let not 



28 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

private religious instruction, then, be condemned. 
Let not the minister of religion be censured as over- 
zealous when he addresses his people in their own 
houses, as well as in the house of God, on those 
great and momentous truths which it is the end of 
his office to teach, and should be the chief object of 
his thoughts and prayers and labors to disseminate. 
Subjects of controversy, if they must ever be intro- 
duced, are much more proper for private than for 
public discussion. Personal advice, admonition, 
counsel and caution are fit subjects of private 
application and address, and of private application 
and address only. Doubts and difficulties which 
may have arisen in the minds of individuals, can in 
private be best met, resolved and overcome. Seri- 
ous impressions may there be cherished, a balm 
applied to the wounded conscience, and consolation 
imparted to the sorrowing heart. 

A minister is to be instant in season and out of 
season. He is to watch for souls as one who must 
give an account, and he betrays his trust, he is un- 
faithful to his Master, and not to his Master only, 
but to the souls of those who are committed to his 
charge, if he does not seize every favorable opportu- 
nity for conveying that knowledge which maketh 
wise unto salvation. 

Bear with us, then, if we are zealous. Bear 
with us ! O pardon us, just and holy God ! that 
we are so cold, and remiss, and unfaithful in thy 
service ! Blessed Saviour ! how didst thou watch 
and toil and suffer to promote thy Father's glory 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 29 

in the world, and the welfare of his fallen, apostate 
creatures! Holy prophets, evangelists, apostles, 
martyrs! how earnestly did ye labor for the cause 
of truth and righteousness, how patiently did ye 
bear reproach and ignominy, how did ye triumph 
amidst persecutions, and tortures and death ! and 
shall they who are honored to succeed you, though 
in a far humbler station, be backward in manifest- 
ing a zeal for the truth, or shall they shrink from 
the duties, and labors, and trials of their office? 
Shall they not ' endure hardness as good soldiers of 
Jesus Christ,' looking to the ' Captain of their salva- 
tion,' the ' Author and Finisher of their faith,' ' who, 
for the joy that was set before him, endured the 
cross, despising the shame, and is now sit down at 
the right hand of the Majesty on high ' ? 

"Whilst the ministers of religion should not be 
influenced by the dread of censure, to keep back 
anything which might be profitable to their people 
neither should they be tempted, by the hope of ap- 
plause, to utter anything which their judgment con- 
demns and their heart disavows. If they are sin- 
cerely desirous of winning souls to Christ, they will 
not be satisfied with empty applause. They will re- 
quire a more substantial reward, the reformation and 
improvement of those to whom they minister, and 
they will be more rejoiced to be the instrument of 
conveying one useful truth to the understanding, 
and fixing one serious impression on the heart, 
than to receive the incense of praise from any au- 
dience, however numerous or enightened. 
3+ 



30 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

It is with such feelings, I am persuaded, my 
brother, that you enter on the work of the ministry. 
To be a useful minister is your highest ambition, 
and it is the worthiest end to which your efforts 
can be directed, the noblest object to which you 
can aspire. I have presented to you the example 
of the great apostle of the Gentiles. Be careful 
that, like him, you are able to say at the close of 
your ministry, ' I kept back nothing that was profit- 
able to you.' Do you ask me to direct you to the 
most useful topics? I answer, that this people 
have chosen you and not me for their religious in- 
structor, and, if they are wise, they will not desire 
that you should inquire the law at the mouth of 
any human teacher. Preach the truth ; — i the word 
of God is truth.' Make yourself acquainted with 
the Holy Scriptures ; with your own heart; with the 
circumstances and wants of your people ; and you 
will be at no loss to determine what are the most 
profitable topics for your public discourses. In 
your private visits, subjects of instruction will con- 
tinually present themselves. To him who is watch- 
ful to improve every opportunity for conveying re- 
ligious knowledge, the most common occurrences 
will furnish themes. He will find ' tongues in trees, 
books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and 
God in every thing.' 

I am aware of the difficulties you must encoun- 
ter, and the opposition you may meet with in the 
holy work to which you devote yourself. But be 
not dismayed, my brother. Remember the words 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 31 

of the Lord, how he said, c My grace is sufficient 
for thee, and my strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness.' Be faithful to your own conscience and to 
God, and you have nothing to fear. If you can 
appeal to Him who looketh on the heart for the rec- 
titude of your intentions and the uprightness of 
your conduct, you need not be discouraged by any 
thing which man can say or do unto you. Your 
character may be aspersed, and your ministry de- 
spised, but you may be of good cheer whilst you 
can say with the apostle, ' God is my witness whom 
I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son.' 
The arrows of detraction will fall harmless and 
blunted from that breast which is defended by the 
panoply of a good conscience. 

Cherish a love for your people. Indeed all your 
ministrations among them are offices which lead to 
tenderness and love. Share in their joys and their 
sorrows. Be their counsellor in perplexity, their 
comforter in affliction, at all times their affectionate, 
sympathizing friend. In their seasons of prosper- 
ity, when 'the candle of the Lord shines upon their 
head,' and the voice of health and gladness is heard 
in their dwelling, it is for you to direct to a grate- 
ful sense, and to a suitable improvement of the Di- 
vine goodness. In their seasons of adversity, when 
' the Lord maketh the heart soft, and the Almighty 
troubleth it,' it is for you to improve the opportunity 
for sowing the seeds of piety, or watering those 
which are already germinating, and, without this 
attention, might languish and die. When the heart. 



32 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

convinced of the emptiness and insufficiency of 
earthly good, returns from its wanderings, like the 
dove of Noah, having found no resting place, it is 
for you to direct it for refuge to the only ark of 
safety. 

The children of your flock will be the objects of 
your affectionate solicitude. You will take them 
by the hand and lead them in the path of knowl- 
edge and virtue. Your Saviour evinced peculiar 
regard for little children. He took them in his arms 
and blessed them. By your instructions, admoni- 
tions, and warnings, you, too, his minister, will 
bless them. 

In your intercourse with your people, encourage 
a free and unreserved communication of their sen- 
timents and feelings, when it will relieve their own 
minds, and afford you an opportunity of imparting 
instruction and consolation. i Condescend to men 
of low estate. 9 ' Pride was not made for man.' 
Least of all does it become a Christian minister, 
who, in the discharge of the duties of his sacred 
calling, is to be the servant of all. Yes, condescend 
to men of low estate, but never, at any time, or in 
any place, lose sight of that dignity and propriety 
of conduct which become you as an ambassador of 
Jesus Christ. ; Let no man despise thee.' 

Whilst some of your brethren may be disposed 
to enter into the labors of other men, and to take 
* the care of all the churches,' be content to labor in 
your own vineyard, to nurture the plants which the 
Lord of the vineyard has committed to your care, 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 33 

and believe not that you have lived in vain, if, but 
a small number, through your instrumentality, are 
made to 'bring forth fiuit to everlasting life.' 

You are honored to succeed able, pious, faithful 
ministers. One of them it was my privilege to 
know and to love.* An inmate of his family, I can 
bear witness (how many hearts in this assembly 
can bear witness!) to his integrity, his purity, his 
simplicity, his love of peace, his affectionate zeal 
for the welfare of his people. Having caught his 
mantle, may a double portion of his spirit rest upon 
you! 

Brethren of this Christian Society — Were I to 
follow the impulse of my feelings, I should dwell 
on the satisfaction I derive from being allowed to 
address you on this occasion. I should revert to 
the days which are long since past, when I received 
instruction from the same lips with yourselves, and 
mingled my prayers with yours at this altar. The 
scenes and the associations of our early days are 
peculiarly dear to us, and we dwell upon them with 
fond, though melancholy remembrance. 

But such recollections become not the dignity of 
this occasion. I stand here, not as an individual to 
give vent to my private feelings, but as a minister 
of religion, to discourse of eternal things ; as the 
organ of this council, to offer you their congratula- 
tions; as the friend of your pastor elect, to ask for 
him a place in your hearts, and an interest in your 
prayers. 

* The preacher was, in part, fitted for college by Dr. Sanger, the 
minister of this parish. 



34 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

The occasion does not forbid, however, that I 
should call up to your respectful recollection those 
excellent men of God, who have stood in this place, 
and broken to you and to your fathers, the bread of 
life. May we not believe that even now, the spirits 
of the departed are witnesses of this interesting 
solemnity, that, bending from their high abode, they 
are sharers in our joy ! 

This day, my brethren, is a witness to you of the 
faithfulness of God. Your prayers have been heard. 
We present you a new pastor. Receive and cher- 
ish him. ' Esteem him very highly in love for his 
work's sake.' It is for your interest and happiness, 
as well as his, that you should respect and love 
your minister. Teach your children to respect and 
love him. Let not the imperfections you may dis- 
cern in his public preaching, or the failings you may 
discover in his private conduct, be the subject of 
conversation in your families. If ministers are not 
faultless, it should be remembered that they are 
men. If they are immoral, they are unworthy the 
station they hold, and cannot too soon be discarded 
from their office, and from the hearts of their people. 

Manifest your attachment to your minister by 
your regular attendance on public worship, both in 
his presence and in his absence, and by the devout 
observance of all the instituted means of religious 
improvement. Do not consider him your enemy 
because he tells you the truth. We do not find 
that the elders of Ephesus had less regard for the 
apostle Paul because he l kept back nothing that 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 35 

was profitable to them.' On the contrary, when he 
parted from them, they hung upon his neck and 
wept, 'sorrowing most of all for the words which he 
spake, that they should see his face no more.' 

We commend to you this our brother as worthy, 
in our estimation, of your respect, your affection 
and confidence. By your diligent improvement of 
his instructions, your candid interpretation of his 
conduct, and your earnest prayers on his behalf, 
may you strengthen his hands and encourage his 
heart. Dwell in love and in peace among your- 
selves, and may the God of love and of peace be 
with you ! 

My hearers. There are few occasions when it is 
proper for a Christian minister to make himself, or 
his profession, the subject of discourse. He is ' set 
for the defence' and promotion of the gospel, and 
the evidence of that gospel he should exhibit and 
elucidate ; its doctrines he should teach and enforce ; 
its precepts he should inculcate ; its motives display; 
its threatenings denounce ; its promises unfold. He 
is to preach 'not himself, but Christ Jesus;' and 
Jesus Christ, in all his offices, should be the frequent 
theme of his preaching. But there may be occa- 
sions when it is not unappropriate, and may be use- 
ful, to direct the attention of his hearers to the of- 
fice he holds, and he is warranted by the example 
of the author of our text, to ask from them, not a 
larger portion of their substance, but an interest in 
their prayers, that they would bear him, as he bears 
them, on the arms of intercession to the throne of 



36 MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 

the Eternal, that his Christian graces may be in- 
creased by the influences of the Holy Spirit, and 
'the arms of his hands made strong through the 
power of the mighty God of Jacob.' 

Such an occasion presents itself at this time, 
when another laborer is about to be introduced to 
the Christian vineyard in this place. Entering on 
an office in the highest degree important and re- 
sponsible, this our young brother is much in need 
of the prayers of Christians for aid in a work for 
which he is of himself insufficient, nor have they 
less need to be remembered who 'have already 
borne the heat and burden of the day.' 

When we reflect on the nature and end of the 
Christian ministry, that it has reference not to the 
temporal welfare of this perishable body, — to the 
wealth, the enjoyments, and the honors of this 
world, — but to the eternal welfare of the immortal 
soul, to the riches, the felicities and glories of 
heaven, what an interest and importance does it 
assume! 

Could you feel, my hearers, the solemn responsi- 
bility which they must feel who have it in charge 
to deliver the messages of God ; could you know 
the difficulties, the trials, the discouragements they 
meet with in the discharge of their appointed duty, 
you would not wonder that, with earnest expostu- 
lation and entreaty, we address you in the words 
of the apostle, ' Brethren, pray for usS 

Pray for us, that in public and in private our ' doc- 
trine may drop as the rain, and our speech distil as 



MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 37 

the dew ; that we may be wise as serpents, and 
harmless as doves ; that we may be examples to 
the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in 
faith, in purity ; that we may take heed to ourselves 
as well as our doctrine, for in doing this, we shall 
both save ourselves, and them that hear us.' 

Nor is it for us alone that we ask your prayers. 
Pray for yourselves also, that we may not labor 
among you in vain, nor ' spend our strength for 
nought.' If ministers must give an account of i how 
they teach, hearers must give an account of how 
they hear.' Could you realize the awful result of 
our preaching to the careless, unprofitable hearer, 
you would feel that ' this is not a vain thing, for it 
is your life? 

The season of our preaching, and of your hear- 
ing, is fast passing away. The voice which now 
sounds in your ears the glad tidings of the gospel, 
and the awful denunciations of a violated law, will 
soon be hushed in the silence of the grave, and the 
ears which now hear, will soon be closed till they 
hear ' the voice of the archangel, and the trump of 
God.' That voice will penetrate the silent cham- 
bers of death, and that trump will aw^ake the sleep- 
ing tenants to an awful judgment. God grant, that 
when we shall join that 'great congregation which 
no man can number,' we may be found to have been 
faithful, and having worshipped, once at least, ill 
one temple on earth, may mingle our hearts ancj 
pur voices in the service of i a temple not made with 
hands, which is eternal in the heavens!' Amen. 

4 



SERMON III 



[Preached at the end of a century from the first Landing of the Pilgrims at 
Plymouth.] 

RETROSPECTION. 

Deuteronomy, iv. 32. — ask now op the days that are past. 

Another year of life is concluded. Another 
century in the history of our country is completed. 
At this memorable season, — memorable in the pro- 
gress of our own existence, still more memorable in 
the history of our country, — the mind involuntarily 
looks backward. The monitory address of the lead- 
er of the ancient people of God, comes home upon 
the memory with irresistible force, — c Ask now of 
the days that are past.' Send forth your inquiries 
upon the little period of your personal existence 
which terminates with this day. Extend them still 
further ; let them pursue the line of your ancestry, 
let them travel over the long tract of time since 
your fathers first found a resting-place for their 
piety in this distant region. 

Persecuted for their nonconformity to the estab- 
lished church, our Puritan ancestors, at the begins 



RETROSPECTION. 39 

ning of the seventeenth century, relinquished their 
home and country, and sought refuge in the neigh- 
boring continent, first at Amsterdam, and after- 
wards at Leyden, where they continued nearly 
twelve years. Dissatisfied with the climate, with 
the manners of the Hollanders, especially their 
lax observance of the Lord's day; fearing that their 
little community would be corrupted, perhaps ab- 
sorbed and lost, in a foreign land ; desirous of 
perpetuating a church formed, as they believed, 
upon the simple and pure model of the primitive 
church of Christ; having a zeal to propagate the 
gospel in the new world,* and retaining still an 
attachment to their native country, and a wish to 
be subjected to its sway, they determined to trans- 
port themselves to America, and to effect a settle- 
ment in that part of it which was then called 
Virginia, but is now New York. After numerous 
obstacles, they left Leyden for England in July, 
1620, and England for America on the 6th of Sep- 
tember of the same year. 

I know of nothing more interesting than the 
narrative of the parting of these conscientious 
Christians from their revered and beloved pastor, 
and that portion of their brethren who remained 
in Holland. At the moment of separation, they 
kneeled down and prayed, the pastor, with many 
tears, commending them to God. The exhortation 
of Robinson, on taking leave of them, is truly 

* American Annals, Vol. i. p. 197. See also Amer. Biog. Vol. ii. 
Art. Robinson. 



40 RETROSPECTION. 

astonishing for the period in which it was deliv- 
ered; the sentiments it contains should be often 
repeated, and should be imprinted on the hearts of 
those who are in possession of the privileges which 
the Pilgrims came hither to secure. 

4 He charged them before God and his blessed 
angels, to follow him no further than he followed 
Christ ; and, if God should reveal anything to them 
by any other instrument of his, to be as ready to 
receive it as ever they -were to receive any truth by 
his ministry, for he was very confident the Lord 
had more truth and light yet to break forth out of 
his holy word. He took occasion, also, miserably 
to bewail the state of the reformed churches, who 
were come to a period in religion, and would go no 
further than the instruments of their reformation. 
As, for example, the Lutherans could not be drawn 
to go beyond what Luther saw ; for whatever part 
of God's word he had further revealed to Calvin, 
they had rather die than embrace it. And so, said 
he, you see the Calvinists — they remain where he 
left them, — a misery much to be lamented; for, 
though they were precious, shining lights in their 
times, yet God had not revealed his whole will to 
them; and, were they -now alive, said he, they 
would be as ready to embrace further light as that 
they had received. He put them also in mind of 
their church covenant, whereby they engaged with 
God and one another, to receive whatever light or 
truth should be made known to them from his 
written word. But withal, exhorted them to take 



RETROSPECTION. 41 

heed what they received for truth, and well to ex- 
amine, compare, and weigh it with other scriptures 
before they received it ; for, said he, it is not possi- 
ble the Christian world should come so lately out of 
such anti- Christian darkness, and thatfull perfection 
of knowledge should break forth at once.' * Such 
were the principles of the pastor, and they were in 
perfect unison with those of the church. They are 
principles which their descendants and successors 
should strenuously and inviolably maintain. 

On leaving England, they directed their course 
towards Hudson's river, but the master of the ship, 
having been bribed in Holland,! to prevent their 
settling where the Dutch themselves had already 
formed a settlement, availed himself of the ad- 
vanced season, to bring them to New England. 
On the 10th of November, they dropped anchor 
in the harbor of Cape Cod ; and, as the charter 
which they had obtained from the Virginia Com- 
pany was now useless, on the 11th, on ship- 
board, after solemn prayer and thanksgiving, they 
formed themselves into a body politic, and elected 
their first governor. c Thus, 5 says the historian, 
' did these intelligent colonists find means to erect 
themselves into a republic, even though they had 
commenced their enterprise under the sanction of 
a royal charter, — a case that is rare in history, and 

* New England Chronology. 

t Morton's N. E. Memorial. There is much reason to believe that 
Morton was mistaken in this opinion. ( 1855.) 
4* 



42 RETROSPECTION. 

can be effected only by that perseverance which the 
spirit of liberty inspires.' * 

I need not dwell on the obstacles they encoun- 
tered ; on the hardships they endured. It was nearly 
four months from the time of their leaving England 
before they fixed on a place for their habitation. 
It was in winter that they were seeking for that 
place. A convenient harbor, a cleared country, and 
brooks of water, determined their choice. They 
called the place Plymouth, after the town from 
which they embarked in their native country, and 
effected their final landing early in 1621. 

It needs but little effort of the imagination to 
portray the horrors of their condition. In a strange 
land ; on a dreary, desolate shore ; at a vast distance 
from kindred and friends ; destitute of every thing 
that could render their situation comfortable ; un- 
provided with a proper defence against the severity 
of a climate to which they were unaccustomed and 
which they had not expected to encounter ; and sur- 
rounded by a savage foe ; I know not what could 
have been superadded to the evils they endured, 
but sickness, and sickness soon came. From the 
total change in their mode of living, from the scanty 
means of subsistence, from the necessity of unusual 
exertions and the consequent endurance of great 
fatigue, and from the severity of the season, from 
one or all of these causes, more than half of them 
perished within the first three months. The re- 

* Amer. Annals, Vol. i. p. 200. Univ. Hist. Vol. xxxix. p. 275. 



RETROSPECTION. 43 

mainder, reduced to about fifty, men, women and 
children, were not dispirited. ' They bore all with 
a Christian fortitude and patience as extraordinary 
as their trials.' Their leaders were possessed of 
uncommon minds, and they all were supported and 
cheered by a firm and undoubting affiance in God. 
The religious principle, which, of all others, has the 
strongest influence on the minds of men, and which 
prompted to this enterprise, sustained them through 
it, and enabled them to lay, broad and deep, the 
foundations of civil and religious liberty. 

It is delightful to contemplate the cheerfulness 
with which their piety inspired them whilst exiled 
from the land of their father's sepulchres ; from the 
home in which the morning of their life had been 
passed ; from the comforts of refined and civilized 
society ; from all that was most interesting to them 
but their religion, and all that was most dear to 
them but their Father in heaven. His presence 
they felt to be universal. On His arm they leaned 
with confidence, and found it fully sufficient for 
their protection and support. * A table was spread 
for them in the desert ; the rock supplied them with 
water, and the land they inhabited was given them 
for a possession.' By the blessing of God, they in- 
creased and multiplied, so that ' a little one became 
a thousand, and a small one a strong nation.' 

Such, in brief, is the history of the first settling 
of New England. The settlers were not the first, 
indeed, who had landed on these shores. Besides 
the fishermen who had visited the coast, a settle- 



44 



RETROSPECTION. 



ment had been commenced, by a party of English- 
men, nearly twenty years before, but was aban- 
doned at its commencement. The Plymouth colo- 
nists were the first who formed a permanent settle- 
ment, who found a new home, a new object in 
which the feelings of patriotism might centre, in 
this part of the western world. 

Eight years afterwards, the colony of Massachu- 
setts was founded. The first company of adven- 
turers to this colony arrived at Naumkeak,* now 
Salem, in the autumn of 1628. A part of the emi- 
grants to Salem, in this and the two following 
years, laid the foundations of Charlestown and 
Boston. 

Governor Winthrop, says the early historian, pro- 
posed to set down his station about Cambridge, or 
somewhere on the river, but, viewing the place, 'he 
liked that plain neck that was called Blackstone's 
neck, now Boston. But, before they could build at 
Boston, they lived, many of them, in tents and wig- 
wams, their meeting-place being abroad, under a 
tree, where,' he adds, ' I have heard Mr. Wilson 
and Mr. Phillips preach many a good sermon.' 

On this peninsula, they found only one inhabi- 
tant who, like themselves, had come that he might 
enjoy religious freedom; though the freedom he 
sought, it would seem, was more complete, for he 

* It appears from an ancient copy of the charter of Massachusetts, 
recently discovered by Mr. J. W. Thornton, that the first colonists of 
Massachusetts landed at Cape Ann, and that Roger Conant came out 
with them as the first governor. (1855.) 



RETROSPECTION, 45 

was 'soon fain,' as he himself says, ' having fled 
from the Lord's bishops, to flee from the Lord's 
brethren.' Leaving this place, he settled on the 
banks of the river now called by his name, Black- 
stone. 

The early historians of this colony, give an af- 
fecting detail of the sufferings of the colonists. 
4 They sowed in tears ; ' but we, their descendants, 
in our civil and religious privileges, are reaping a 
rich and joyful harvest. 

With our gratitude to God, we should mingle re- 
spect and attachment to the memory of our fathers. 
We may dwell upon their history with satisfaction 
and pride. They were not the outcasts of society. 
They were fugitives from oppression, but not from 
justice. Many of them were men of elevated 
minds, and honorable descent. Some of them were 
possessed of good estates, living on their own in- 
come ; and all of them, we have reason to believe, 
were engaged in professions and pursuits which 
yielded them a competent support. 

Their ministers, educated at the universities in 
England, were among the most learned men of 
their time, and, if they had conformed to all that 
was demanded of them, might have attained to 
the highest dignities of the established church in 
England. 

The founders of our Commonwealth brought 
with them a religious spirit. It was for their reli- 
gion, — for the enjoyment of religious liberty and 
privileges, — that they sacrificed so much, and en- 



46 



RETROSPECTION. 



dured so much, and dared so much, — that they left 
their pleasant homes, and pleasant kindred and 
friends, and the sepulchres of their venerated dead. 

All, all, as it respects the present life, that was 
most valuable in possession, and all that was most 
alluring in prospect, they relinquished, and relin- 
quished heartily. But religion never makes men 
stoics. The cords of affection could not be broken, 
the natural relations of life could not be rent asun- 
der, without the deepest sorrow. 

In ordinary cases, the pang of separation is 
soothed by the promises of hope, — the hope of a 
re-union. But here, to most of them, the parting 
on earth was final, like the last farewell to a depart- 
ing spirit. 

Yes ! The founders of our Commonwealth were 
pious men. Before they laid a stone for a habita- 
tion, they erected an altar for sacrifice, and kindled 
a flame on it which has not yet gone out. May it 
continue to burn brighter and brighter, and may 
every son and daughter of these Pilgrims^ in every 
age, be warmed by its genial heat, and bring their 
contributions to preserve its pure and holy flame ! 

To these our Puritan fathers we are indebted for 
our most valuable institutions, — institutions which 
have conferred on us our highest distinction, and 
rendered our Commonwealth the most favored por- 
tion of the most favored country on earth. 

The first church established in this town, but 
which was first formed at Charlestown, is the church 
now assembling in Chauncy place. 



RETROSPECTION. 47 

This West church was c gathered,' to use the 
technical language of our fathers, on the third of 
January, 1737. The covenant was subscribed by 
seventeen persons, in presence of Thomas Prince, 
pastor of the South church, and Thomas Foxcroft, 
pastor of the Old, or First church. It is written in 
the spirit of Robinson and the fathers. They de- 
clare their belief of the sacred scriptures 'as the 
word of God, and perfect rule of faith and obedi- 
ence,' and they express their resolution, by the grace 
of God, to conform to them. 

On the same day, Mr. William Hooper was 
unanimously chosen their pastor. He was ordain- 
ed on the 18th of May, 1737. It may be interest- 
ing to some of you to know that on this occasion, 
the pastor elect preached, Mr. Foxcroft and Mr. 
Sewall prayed, Mr. Prince gave the charge, and Dr. 
Colman the right hand of fellowship. 

Mr. Hooper continued with the church about 
nine years, when he resigned, or rather abdicated 
without a formal resignation, his office in this place, 
and went to England to receive episcopal ordina- 
tion. On his return, he became pastor of Trinity 
church, and continued in that relation till his death, 
in 1767. He was a native of Scotland ; a man of 
more than ordinary powers of mind ; of a noble as- 
pect, an eloquent, popular preacher. It was on his 
account chiefly, as I have reason to think, that this 
church was formed ; and the dissolution of his con- 
nection with it, was universally and deeply lament- 
ed. Some of his descendants are now in North 



48 RETROSPECTION. 

Carolina. His eldest son, a graduate of our Uni 
versity, was a member of Congress from that State, 
and his name will be found among the patriots 
who subscribed the Declaration of Independence. 

Two hundred and six are recorded as baptized, 
and thirty-four as added to the number of commu- 
nicants, during the ministry of Mr. Hooper. 

The successor of Mr. Hooper was Mayhew, a 
name which cannot be pronounced without emo- 
tion by any friend to civil liberty, or the right of 
private judgment in matters of religion. He was 
truly a great man, second to none in his profession 
whom our country has ever produced. This opin- 
ion is not formed from hearsay, from tradition, 
which is often entirely false, and still oftener exag- 
gerated. His writings remain with us, and they 
bear the marks of an uncommonly clear and vig- 
orous mind. They sometimes, indeed, partake 
much of the warmth of his constitutional temper- 
ament, and there is a vein of satire, in which, for 
the sake of his opponents, we might wish he had 
not indulged, but they are full of thought, of sound 
sense, and cogent argument. His warmth, too, is 
without passion, and his satire without bitterness. 
His natural disposition was open and generous, 
and, like every honest man who feels the impor- 
tance of what he utters, he delivered his opinions 
with frankness and energy. The friends who knew 
him best have described him not only as 'endow- 
ed with singular greatness of mind and fortitude 
of spirit,' but with ' softness and benevolence of 



RETROSPECTION. 49 

temper,' as 4 most amiable in all the relations of 
life ;' as' exceeding in acts of liberality and kind- 
ness,' as ' a man of real piety and true devotion, 
an upright, sincere disciple of Jesus Christ.' 

Like the Puritans, and the ministers of the Con- 
gregational churches in this place at the present 
day, he renounced all attachment to human sys- 
tems, reserving for himself, as he allowed to others, 
the liberty of forming his opinions and his practice 
from the word of God. He was not an advocate 
for the sentiments of Luther, or Calvin, but for 
primitive Christianity, a zealous contender for 'the 
faith once delivered to the saints,' not receiving the 
doctrines of grace as taught at the reformation, but 
the doctrines of grace as revealed in the Holy 
Scriptures. 

The Congregational churches possessed in him 
an able and successful defender. So important 
were his writings on the subject of Episcopacy 
deemed, that the Archbishop of Canterbury* be- 
came his opponent in the lists of controversy. 

To our University he was a firm friend and a 
liberal benefactor, as he availed himself of the 
friendship and correspondence which his fame had 
acquired for him, to procure benefactions for the 
college. It is probably indebted to him for the 
most valuable donations to its library, and it might 
be but an act of justice if his name were enrolled 
by the side of < Hollis' in its records. 



*Dr. Thomas Seeker, who was himself one of the most eminent 
men of his day. 

a 



50 RETROSPECTION* 

Dr. Mayhew was invited to become the minister 
of this church, with only two dissentients, on the 
6th of March, 1747, and was ordained on the 17th 
of June following. The sermon was preached by 
Mr. Gay of Hingham, the charge delivered by the 
venerable father of the pastor elect, and the right 
hand of fellowship by Mr. Prescott of Salem Vil- 
lage.* His ministry continued nineteen years. It 
was terminated by his sudden death on the 9th of 
July, 1766. Dr. Chauncy preached at his funeral, 
and, as I am informed, it was the first prayer at a 
funeral in this town, perhaps in this country.f Our 
fathers discouraged every approach to the Roman 
Catholic practice of praying for the dead. Dr. 
Mayhew was an eminent man, there was a great 
concourse to witness his interment, and as it was 
necessary to assemble in the church, a devotional 
exercise appeared to be proper and expedient. Dr. 
Chauncy preached on the following Sabbath, and 
was succeeded on the next Lord's day but one, by 
the venerable man who had preached at the ordi- 
nation of the friend whose worth he now com- 
memorated. J 

During the ministry of Dr. Mayhew, as far as 

# Now Danvers. 

f I think there had been prayers at funerals of Episcopalians. 

t The first sermon at a funeral in this town, as I believe, was at 
the interment of Dr. Cooper. The funeral took place on Friday , 
the usual sacramental lecture was held in Brattle street, and Dr. 
Clarke, the junior pastor of the church connected with Brattle street 
church in this exercise, preached on the occasion. The body was 
carried into the church. 



RETROSPECTION. 51 

the records are a guide, two hundred and sixty-five 
were baptized, and thirty-nine received into ' full 
communion.' Circumstances lead me to doubt 
whether the whole number, especially of baptisms, 
is given in the records, either of this, or the pre- 
ceding ministry. 

Mayhew was succeeded by Howard, on whose 
character it is unnecessary for me to dwell. By 
many of you he was personally known, and to 
know, was to respect and love him. His simplicity 
and godly sincerity, the singleness of his heart, his 
unaffected humility, his mild and benevolent dispo- 
sition, the gravity and cheerfulness which were 
blended in his deportment, added a feeling of affec- 
tion to the sentiment of respect which the qualities 
of his mind had inspired. He was eminently a 
man of good sense, as well as of prudence and 
piety. 

His religious sentiments, like those of his prede- 
cessor, were rational and catholic, — his preaching 
solid, serious and practical. He has left behind 
him a reputation most valuable to his people and 
his descendants. A similar memorial his successors 
may be well satisfied to bequeath. 

Dr. Howard was unanimously invited to the pas- 
torship of this church on the 10th of February, 
1767, and was ordained on the 6th of May. Mr. 
Perkins of Bridgewater introduced the solemnities 
with prayer; Dr. Chauncy, the warm friend and af- 
fectionate eulogist of his predecessor, preached ; 
Mr. Gay again evinced his regard for the church 



52 RETROSPECTION. 

and its pastors, by giving the charge ; Mr. Appleton 
of Cambridge the right hand of fellowship; and 
Mr. Mather concluded the service. Dr. Howard 
died on Monday the 13th of August, 1804. Six 
hundred and four received the ordinance of baptism, 
and sixty-six were admitted to ' full communion,' 
with the church, during his ministry. 

Your present pastor received an unanimous invi- 
tation to the pastoral office on the 11th of Novem- 
ber, 1805, and was ordained on the 1st of January, 
1806. Since that period, eight hundred and twenty 
have been received into the church by baptism, "and 
two hundred and ninety-two have been admitted 
to full communion. 

On the 4th of April, 1806, the corner stone of 
the house in which we now worship was laid, and 
on the 27th of November, the church was opened 
for the service of God. 

In looking back upon the i days that are past,' we 
trace the footsteps of Providence, and the recogni- 
tion should inspire us with thankfulness. We have 
no reason to be ashamed of our ancestors, nor of 
the religious society with which we are connected. 
The founders of pur nation were wise and good 
men, and the history of our society, during the 
ministry of the three first pastors, is the history of 
enlightened and pious ministers, and of a peaceful, 
united people. No root of bitterness has yet sprung 
up to trouble us. We yield to none in our har- 
mony, or in a regular attendance on the service of 
the sanctuary. May we yield to none in the culti- 






RETROSPECTION. 53 

vation of devout affections, and the exhibition of 
holy lives. 

To-morrow will complete fifteen years since he 
who now addresses you first entered on the duties 
of his sacred office. I review that period, as you 
may well believe, with many painful emotions, and 
with unaffected humility. The retrospect is pain- 
ful, as it presents to my mind the images of many 
whom I respected and loved, and of whom the re- 
membrance only remains to me. It is humbling, 
as it reminds me of resolutions unaccomplished, 
and duties unfulfilled. But, as it is unfit that I 
should open wounds which are healing, or are healed, 
so it becomes me not to speak of failings, which I 
should rather lament and reform, than proclaim. 

Though the period is comparatively short, yet 
many of you have grown up from childhood to ma- 
turity, and of these, not a few have become heads 
of families, since the commencement of my minis- 
try. May those of you who now fill, or are soon 
to fill the places of your fathers, be actuated by a 
sense of your responsibility, and may the fathers 
who are yet to be succeeded by their children, be 
careful to bequeath them the legacy of ' a good 
name which is rather to be chosen than great riches.' 

We have looked back an hundred years. Two 
hundred years ago, the humble dwelling of the first 
inhabitant of Boston, stood alone upon this penin- 
sula, then 'a plain neck of land,' its three hills 
rising in solitary beauty, and all around dreary and 
desolate. 

5* 



54 RETROSPECTION. 

The cities, that have now gone before us. had no 
existence, or were but small, inconsiderable villages. 
Here and there besides, there was a hamlet, a few 
clusters of cottages, and all the rest of our vast 
country was a wilderness. 

Now, instead of a small handful of feeble colo- 
nists, there are millions of freemen. Alas ! sad, 
sad .inconsistency, that there are millions also of 
slaves ! 

We see 'the vine which the Lord's right hand 
had planted, extending its boughs to the sea, and 
its branches to the rivers,' and the oppressed and 
the fallen of other climes taking shelter under its 
foliage and refreshed by its fruit. 

On this narrow peninsula which, two hundred 
years ago, had only a single habitation, and a single 
inhabitant, a city has risen, the seat of science and 
the arts, second to none in that which constitutes 
true eminence and prosperity; a city whose name 
has been heard in the remotest parts of the earth, 
whose sails have whitened every navigable sea, and 
its citizens ' pushed their adventurous enterprise to 
every accessible region of the globe ; ' * a city whose 
i merchants are princes, and its traffickers the hon- 
orable of the earth.' 

From this narrow neck of land has gone forth a 
multitude to the east and to the west, to the north 
and to the south. 

Yet more than this. From this narrow neck of 

* Burke. 






RETROSPECTION. 55 

land, yes, it may be, from the very spot on which 
we are assembled, from the sacred desk* in which 
I now stand, has gone forth a voice which has been 
echoed and re-echoed through far distant lands. 

It is the spirit of freedom that has sent it forth, 
and it will be reverberated from hill to hill, till it 
has sounded through the earth. 

To this land; to this city; to this dear and hal- 
lowed spot; may be traced those struggles for free- 
dom, and that establishment of free institutions, 
which have marked the age in which we live. 
This city has stood, and I trust will ever stand, as 
a beacon, shedding a clear and steady light on the 
pathway of liberty and independence. 

We ask of the days that are past and receive an 
answer to our inquiries. We ask of the days that 
are to come, but there is no response. We cannot 
pry into the book of fate and read the page on 
which is written our destiny. It as enough if we 
shall find, when the books are opened before the 
throne of God, that our ' names are written in 
Heaven.' 

' We ask of the days that are past.' Where are 
they who planted the tree of civil and religious lib- 
erty in our land, and watered it with their tears and 
their blood? i Our fathers; where are they?' 

* Dr. Mayhew of the West Church sounded the first note of op- 
pngnation to British oppression, in his sermon on the Stamp Act ; 
and made the first suggestion of a * correspondence between the colo- 
nies,' in a letter to James Otis. 



56 RETROSPECTION. 

We look forward to the days that are to come. 
An ancient commander — thanks to the wise prov- 
idence of our fathers, our children can say who it 
was, — an ancient commander, when he looked 
upon his army, wept that when one hundred years 
were gone, not one of that vast multitude would 
have his place among the living. It will not be 
permitted to us to witness another centennial cele- 
bration of our country's existence. Before that 
time, long before that time, we shall all of us, be 
' gathered to our fathers.' 

Let us resolve, as far as in us lies, that we will 
leave to those who come after us, the institutions 
of our fathers unimpaired, — improved. Let us 
resolve to live in the fear of God, in the discharge 
of our duty to God and man. Thus living, God 
will bless us, and when earthly communities are 
dissolved, and worldly distinctions are lost in the 
glorious kingdom of the Redeemer, we shall have 
our place there, with the innumerable hosts of glo- 
rified spirits who worship and serve God forever 
and ever. 



NOTES, 



Page 39. 

1 As for the rise of these Plimouth planters, Gov. Bradford in- 
forms us, " that several religious people near the joining borders of 
Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, finding their pious 
ministers urged with subscriptions,* or silenced, and the people 
greatly vexed with the commissary courts, apparitors and pursevants, 
which they bare suudry years with much patience, till they were 
occasioned by the continuance and increase of these troubles, and 
other means, to see further into these things by the light of the 
word of God ; how that not only the ceremonies were unlawful, but 
also the lordly and tyrannous power of the prelates, who would, 
contrary to the freedom of the gospel, load the consciences of men, 
and by their compulsive power make a profane mixture of things 
and persons in divine worship ; that their offices, courts, and canons 
were unlawful, being such as have no warrant in the word of God, 
but the same that were used in Popery, and still retained. Upon 
which, this people shake off this yoke of anti-Christian bondage, and 
as the Lord's free people, join themselves by covenant into a church 
state, to walk in all his ways, made known to them, or to be made 
known to them, according to their best endeavors, whatever it may 
cost them." ' 

6 Governor Bradford's history takes no notice of the year of this 
federal incorporation, but Mr. Secretary Morton, in his Memorial, 
places it in 1602. 

1 That the reader may have some idea of the Puritans so often 



* * Subscription to the Books of Common Prayer, ceremonies and all the 
articles.' (Tuller.) 



58 



NOTES. 



mentioned in the history of those times, and from whom this people 
(the New England settlements) derive, I shall only relate the defini- 
tion which Dr. Fulk, a famous church of England writer, has 
given us of them. They are called puritans, says he, who would 
have the Church thoroughly reformed, i.e., purged from all those 
inventions, which have been brought into it since the age of the 
Apostles, and reduced entirely to the scripture purity.' — New Eng- 
land Chronology, Vol. i. 

There was nothing exclusive or bigoted in Mr. Robinson's spirit. 
Though he withdrew himself from the church of England, he did 
not exclude the members of that church from his communion. ' And, 
if any joining to us when we lived at Leyden, or since we came to 
New England, have, with the manifestation of their faith, and pro- 
fession of holiness, held forth therewith separation from the church 
of England ; I have diverse times,' says Gov. Winslow, ■ in the one 
place heard Mr. Robinson our pastor, and in the other Mr. Brewster 
our elder, stop them forthwith, shewing them that we required no 
such thing at their hands, but only to hold forth faith in Jesus 
Christ, holiness in the fear of God, and submission to every divine 
appointment, leaving the church of England to themselves, and to 
the Lord, to whom we ought to pray to reform what was amiss 
among them.' — Ibid. 

* Perhaps Hornius was the only person who gave this people the 
title of Robinsonians, but, had he been duly acquainted with the 
generous principles both of the people and their famous pastor, he 
would have known that nothing was more disagreeable to them, 
than to be called by the name of any mere man whatever, since 
they renounced all attachment to any mere human systems or expo- 
sitions of scripture, and reserved an entire and perpetual liberty of 
searching the inspired records, and of forming both their principles 
and practice from those discoveries they should make therein, with- 
out imposing them on others.' — Ibid. 

' As for Mr. Robinson's being the author of Independency,* Mr. 
Cotton replies, "That the New Testament was the author of it, and 



* They are called ' congregationalists ' because, though each church is indepen- 
dent and allows no interference, foreign to itself, in the management of its affairs, 
yet our ancestors held it proper to call in or ' congregate ' sister churches for 
assistance and advice, when such assistance and advice are needed. 



NOTES. 59 

*t was received in the times of the purest primitive antiquity, many 

huudred years before Robinson was born ; " and Gov. Winslow 

" that the primitive churches in the apostolic age are the only pat- 
tern which the churches of Christ in New England have in their eye, 
not following Luther, or Calvin, Knox, Ainsworth, Robinson, Ames, 
or any other, further thau they follow Christ and his apostles." ' — 
Ibid. 

I shall make no apology for these copious extracts. They are so 
excellent and so interesting, that they must be read with pleasure. 
We cannot but perceive that this church, and its ministers, have 
strictly adhered, in the most important respects, to the principles of 
* the fathers ' and their immediate successors. If in any of their 
opinions they have differed from these pious predecessors, (as, 
indeed, they on some points differed from each other,) it has resulted 
from the use of that liberty which their fathers allowed, and with 
which Christ hath made them free, and we may be permitted in 
reference to their opinions, to adopt the sentiment, and in part the 
language, of Mr. Cotton, one of the first ministers of Boston, as 
quoted above, l The New Testament was the author of them, and 
they were received in the times of the purest primitive antiquity, 
many hundred years before Mr. Robinson, and the fathers, were 
born.' 






Page 44. 

The persons here alluded to, were Bartholomew Gosnold and 
thirty-two others, who, on the 26th of March, 1602, sailed from 
Falmouth for the north part of Virginia, to begin a plantation there. 
He discovered land in 43° on the 10th of May, sailed along the 
shore to May 15, when he saw a headland in 42°, anchored, and 
caught ■ great store of cod-fish ' and named it Cape Cod. May 16, 
he sailed round the cape, and discovered several islands. 

On the 1st of June, he fixed on one of them as a suitable place for 
a settlement, and built a fort. * June 13, the men who were to stay, 
recant and resolve for England. June 17, they all set sail, and Fri- 
day, July 23, arrive at Exmouth.' He was the first Englishman 
who came in a direct course to this part of America. Not even the 
smallest island bears his name. It is preserved only in history. 



60 NOTES. 

In 1797, Dr. Belknap visited the island on which Gosnold is sup- 
posed to have landed with the intention of forming a settlement, and 
tells he had the satisfaction of discovering the cellar of Gosnold's 
store-house. I am not certain that I discovered any remains of it, 
on a visit in 1817. 

The first permanent settlement of the English in America was at 
Jamestown, a few miles from Williamsburg, Virginia. This was in 
1607. I visited this interesting spot in the autumn of 1817. There 
was but one house then there, and this not one of the first built ; 
and there were but few vestiges of the first settlers. 



Pages 44, 45. 

Several years previous to the arrival of Endicott and his compa- 
ny at Salem, plantations had been successively commenced at what 
are now called Weymouth and Quincy, but they were soon deserted. 
A few emigrants from . Plymouth had soon established themselves 
first at Nantasket, and afterwards at Cape Ann * and Naumkeak, 
but no regular settlement was commenced till 1628. — Hubbard, 
Vol. i. 

Charlestown, then called Mishawum, was founded 1629, by Mr, 
Graves, and about one hundred others. Mr. Graves laid out the 
town into two acre lots. A few persons who came to Mishawum 
from Naumkeak, in 1628, found there one English house thatched 
and palisadoed, inhabited by Thomas Walford, a smith. Boston 
was founded in 1630. ' On the south side of the river Charles, on a 
peninsular, called by the natives Shawmut, but by the English Tri- 
mountain, there lived at that time, in a solitary cottage, Mr. Black- 
stone, or Blaxton, an episcopal minister, who, going to Charlestown 
at this juncture, informed the governour of an excellent spring 
of water at Shawmut, and invited him over his side of the river. 
Johnson and the principal gentlemen of the company, induced by 
this invitation, crossed the river, and finding the place as eligible 



* From the researches of Mr. J. Wingate Thornton, published this year, (1S54,) 
it appears that the first settlement was at Cape Ann, under Roger Conant, as Gov- 
ernor. (See Thornton* s Landing at Cape Ann.) 



NOTES. 61 

as they had been led to expect, they began a settlement there by the 
erection of small cottages.' — Amer. Annals. He dwelt in that 
part of West Boston, now called Barton's Point. — Hist. Col. 
Vol. iii. 

Blackstone, on the ground of pre-occupancy, claimed the whole 
peninsula as his property, and about the year 1634, a tax of six 
shillings was levied on each citizen, to satisfy his claim. He re- 
served for himself six acres, on what was then called Blackstone's 
Point. It is probable that he was one of those who came with Endi- 
cot in 1628. 



WEST CHURCH. 



MR. HOOPER S MINISTRY. 

The seventeen persons who formed the church and subscribed the 
first covenant, were : 

H. Hall, William Stoddard, from the South church. 

James Gooch, Jr., John Darroll, (or Dorrall,) John Daniels, from 
the Old church. 

Joseph Ricks, John Pierce, Samuel Sprague, Joseph Badger, from 
the Brattle street church. 

"William Williams, from the First church in Cambridge. 

Ephraim Copeland, Abijah Adams, John Scot, from the New 
North church. 

William More, from the North church. 

James Watson, Robert Watt, John Moffatt, not in communion 
with any church before. 

At a meeting of the church and ■ undertakers ' when Mr. Hooper 
was elected pastor, the number of votes was forty-four. Nine 
churches were invited to assist in the ordination, viz., Dr. Colman's, 
Dr. Sewall's, Mr. Webb's, Mr. Foxcroft's, Mr. Gee's, Mr. Checkley's, 
Mr. Welsteed's, Mr. Boyles' and Mr. Le Mercier's. All the parts, 
in the solemnities of the occasion, were assigned by the church, 
except one. It is stated in the records, that the ministers and dele- 
6 



62 NOTES. 

gates claimed * a right in the election of the person to give the 
right hand of fellowship.' 

The first deacon of the church was James Gooch, who was elected 
February 9th, 1737. He went with Mr. Hooper to Trinity church, 
and died, in the communion of the Episcopal church I believe, in 
1786, at the age of ninety-three.* 

Mr. John Dorrali and Mr. Henry Berry were elected deacons 
April 4th, 1739, and a committee was appointed to examine Deacon 
Gooch' s accounts. It would seem from this, that he had resigned 
his office. He lived in the street which is intended to bear his name, 
but is called, improperly as I suppose, ' Gouch street.' 

' At a meeting of the brethren of the church in New Boston, Sep- 
tember 22d, 1741 : 

s Voted , that with the money in church stock, two silver cups be 
purchased for the communion table : 

' Voted, that the arms of Hugh Hall, Esq. be engraved upon the 
silver cup of which he made a present to the church.' These votes 
are inserted because they give the time and manner in which a part 
of the service for the communion table was procured. 

Eighteen male members were added to the communion of the 
church during Mr. Hooper's ministry. It may be interesting to 
some to know their names. They were : ■ Thomas Chapman, Eben- 
ezer Messinger, Harrison Gray, Alexander Gregory, John Smibert, 
John Little, James Scholie, Henry Berry, Ebenezer Berry, Jeremiah 
Gridley, Stephen Greenleaf, " Mr. Franklin," Stephen Whiting, Wil- 
liam Winslow, Mr. Colburn, Story Dawes, Robert Glen, Mr. Keys.' 
Of these, Mr. Gridley was attorney general, and one of the most em- 
inent men of his day. He died in 1767. In Forsyth's account of 
Lanarkshire, Scotland, I have met with the name of John Smibert 
as the intimate friend of the celebrated Allan Ramsay. He came 
over with Dean, afterwards Bishop, Berkeley, in 1736, was much dis- 
tinguished as a portrait painter, and has left behind him a large 
painting, taken at sea, containing portraits of Dean Berkeley and his 
other fellow-passengers. It is in the possession of Yale College. He 
was alive in 1747. Several of his children were baptized in the 
West church, but the name is not now to be found among us. 

Mr. Hooper died suddenly, without any immediately previous 

* Deacon Gooch removed into the country ia 1739. 



NOTES. 63 

monition, April 14th, 1767. His wife, who survived him, was the 
daughter of Mr. John Dennie. Only one person remains in the so- 
ciety who was baptized by him, viz. Benjamin Hall, son of Hugh 
Hall, Esq. He was baptized April 27th, 1740. 



DR. MAYHEW'S MINISTRY. 

The number of votes, at the election of Mr. Mayhew* was forty- 
six. The salary voted him was fifteen pounds, old tenor, per week. 
He had received eight pounds, old tenor, per week, while preaching 
as a candidate. The churches invited to assist in the ordination 
were Mr. Mayhew's at Tisbury, Mr. Gay's at Hingham, Mr. Apple- 
ton's at Cambridge, the First church, and the church in Brattle 
street, Boston. 

Two churches only attended on the day appointed for the ordina- 
tion, (20th May) viz. the church at Cambridge, and the church at 
Hingham, ' which, not being the major part of those that were in- 
vited, the Rev. pastors thought it advisable not to proceed, and 
advised the church to apply to other churches.' Application was 
accordingly made to Mr. Mayhew's at Tisbury, Mr. Appleton's at 
Cambridge, Mr. Gay's at Hingham, Mr. Hancock's at Lexington, 
Mr. Smith's at Weymouth, Mr. Cotton's at Newton, Mr. Rand's at 
Kingston, Mr. Cook's at Sudbury, Mr. Cook's at Menotomy, Mr. 
Williams' at Watertown, Mr. Clarke's at Salem Village (now Dan- 
vers). Mr. Bryant's at Braintree (now Quincy), Mr. Sparhawk's at 
Salem, Mr. Rogers' at Littleton, and Mr. Prescott's at Salem Village. 
Of these, all attended but Mr. Williams', Mr. Clark's, Mr. Spar- 
hawk's, and Mr. Rogers', and ' the whole affair was finished with 
great decency, and perfect unanimity.' Among the ministers who 
attended, were some of the most distinguished men of their time. 
■ Mr. Thomas Foster and Mr. Daniel Jones were elected deacons in 
1757, and * took the deacon's seat February 13th.' Deacon Foster 
died March 20th, 1789, aged 76. To my inquiries concerning him, 
I have received from one who knew him well, this simple and im- 
pressive reply, ' I need not say more of his character than that Dr. 
Mayhew and Dr. Howard loved him.' Deacon Jones, a man of 
most kind and benevolent affections, died March 22d, 1800, aged 74. 

The first choir of singers was formed about the year 1754. Dea- 



64 NOTES. 

con Berry instructed them. They sat in a pew in the broad aisle. 
Previous to this, the deacon had set the tune, and the congregation 
joined. Tate and Brady's version of the Psalms has always been 
used. The collection of hymns now used, was introduced on the 
first Sabbath in July, 1803. It was the second edition, enlarged 
from the first which was printed in 1783. Previous to the first edi- 
tion there were no hymns sung in the church. 

It may gratify the curiosity of some to know the history of the 
hymns usually annexed to Tate and Brady's Psalms, but which have 
never been used in this society. In 1754, 30 hymns were annexed, 
principally from Watts, with a particular view to sacramental occa- 
sions. Afterwards, Dr. Andrew Eliot added 43 more ; the remain- 
der were added at the ' Old Brick.' Dr. Byles annexed some hymns 
of his own, for the use of the church in Hollis street. 

Twenty -one males were admitted to full communion in Dr. May- 
hew's ministry, viz. Isaac Winslow, Richard Cranch, John Coburn, 
Francis Welles, Daniel Jones, Paul Burbean. James Green, Jonathan 
Williams, William Fletcher, James Robb, Meletiah Bourn, Andrew 
Cragie, Timothy Curtis, Edmund Quincy, Jr., Joseph Bradford, Jr , 
Samuel Waldo, William Shepherd, Sarson Belcher, Jonathan Jones, 
Richard Salter, and Richard Draper. 

Of these, only two were alive at the time of the settlement of the 
present minister, viz. Hon. Richard Cranch, a native of England, 
who died at Quincy, October 16th, 1811, aged 85, and Mr. Timothy 
Curtis, who was for many years a schoolmaster, and died in 1812, 
aged 77. Mrs. Mildred Byles, who died at an advanced age, in 
1814, was the only surviving female member at that time. 

There are now only eight persons remaining in the parish who 
were members of it when Dr. May hew died, viz William Todd, 
Thomas K. Jones, and James Prince, Mrs. Mary Jackson, widow of 
Mr. Edward Jackson, Mrs. Susannah Lapham, daughter of Mr. 
Thomas Pillsbury, Mrs. Eleanor Davis, widow of Hon. Caleb Davis," 
and daughter of Mr. William D. Cheever, Mrs. Sarah Tucker, wife 
of John Tucker, Esq. and daughter of Mr. Job Prince, and Mrs. 
Elizabeth Derby, widow of John Derby, Esq. and daughter of Mr. 
William D. Cheever. All these, excepting Mr. Todd and Mrs. Jack- 
son, were baptized by Dr. Mayhew. 

Among the distinguished civilians and eminently good men who 
were members of Dr. Mayhew's society, was Chief Justice Sewall, 



NOTES. 65 

of whom Dr. Chauncy says, ' Quickness of apprehension, and a 
capacity to look thoroughly into a subject, were united in him to the 
highest degree I ever saw in any of my acquaintance' * As a 
judge,' says the New England biographer, the late modest, learned 
and excellent Dr. Eliot, ' he was held in admiration, and was one of 
the most learned and useful members of his Majesty's council.' The 
concluding part of Dr. Mayhew's character of him, is so honorable 
both to the writer and to the subject of his eulogy, that I cannot for- 
bear quoting it. ' The memory of such eminently wise, just and 
good men, ought indeed to be blessed ; not in the frigid language of 
indifference, but in all the ardor of expression which naturally flows 
from an heart truly sensible of their worth, and deeply touched by 
their loss. And it seems but equitable and congruous, that he who 
never spoke evil of any one, but honored all men, and delighted in 
giving all their due share of praise, should, at least when he is dead 
and gone, be praised by all in his turn ; and so much the rather, 
because he would not willingly suffer any one to commend him while 
living ; which was the truth as to this excellent person.' 

Dr. Mayhew was born in 1720. He was the son of the ■ Rev. Ex- 
perience Mayhew,' who, though he possessed uncommon powers of 
mind, and ' might have ranked among the first worthies of New 
England,' devoted a long life to the service of God among the Indi- 
ans on Martha's Vineyard. His son early discovered proofs of gen- 
ius, and an uncommon strength of mind. His compositions in prose 
and verse, whilst yet an undergraduate at the college, were supposed 
to be the productions of mature age. 

He died of a nervous fever, occasioned by great fatigue in return- 
ing from an ecclesiastical council at Rutland, in the month of July. 
During his last illness, he enjoyed but for a short time the use of his 
reason. One circumstance, however, which I have from unquestion- 
able authority, will evince the state of his mind when he had the 
power to exercise it. When all hope of his recovery was gone, the 
late Dr. Cooper said to him, ' Tell me, dear sir, if you retain the sen- 
timents which you have taught, and what are your views ? ' With 
firmness, though with difficulty, he said, taking him affectionately by 
the hand, * I hold fast mine integrity, and it shall not depart from 
me.'* 

* There was nothing of austerity in Dr. Mayhew- In his conversation there was 
often playfulness and pleasant repartee. A little anecdote may illustrate this. He 
6* 



66 NOTES. 

The last letter written by Dr. Mayhew was on the day before his 
departure for Rutland. It discovers the solicitude he felt for his 
country, and suggests the plan of a correspondence or * communion ' 
among the colonies, which was afterwards adopted, and conduced 
much to the happy result of their struggle for independence. The 
letter was addressed to James Otis, Esq. 

Dr. Mayhew left a widow, the daughter of Mr. John Clark, whose 
countenance, it is said, was a just transcript of the sweetness of her 
disposition, and the intelligence of her mind. 

One child, a daughter, is now living. If delicacy forbids me to 
say that she shares largely in the talents and virtues of her father, 
I may, at least, be allowed to remark that her opinions and feelings, 
in most respects, are in accordance with his. Her eldest son, who 
bears the name of his grandfather, is the much respected minister 
of an Episcopal church, in the city of New York. 

Mr. Hollis, the benefactor of Harvard College, had a likeness of 
his friend engraved at his own expense, and, as a token of respect 
for his memory, bequeathed one hundred pounds sterling to his 
widow. When Mr. Hollis received the news of the death of Dr. 
Mayhew, who was his * most confidential friend among the colonists,' 
with whom he had corresponded on subjects most important to the 
welfare of America, and through whom * most of his benefactions ' 
had been conveyed to Harvard College, ' he entered it in his diary, 
and it is believed sent it to the public papers, with this admonition, 
ii Reader, pursue his plan, the good of North America ; live, like 
him, to great ends ; nor dread, from the excess of it, his exit. ."' It 
should be added that Mr. Hollis found in Dr. Andrew Eliot • an ex- 
cellent substitute ' for the friend he had lost. Dr. Mayhew 's degree 
of Doctor in Divinity was conferred in 1751. 

It is by no means honorable to our community, that the writings 
of this great and good man are out of print, and sinking fast into 
oblivion. s No American author,' says the interesting biographer 
above quoted, ' ever obtained a higher reputation. He would have 

was fond of shooting (in which the writer must acknowledge he has no sympathy 
with him) and was frequently accompanied on his shooting expeditions, by his 
deacon, Thomas Foster. It is related that Dr. M. used to call for the deacon, and 
thus address him, ' Come Thomas that is called Dydimus, I go a shooting ' l And 
I go with you,' replied Thomas, and they set off together for their destructive 
sport. 



NOTES. 67 

done honor to any country by his character and by his writings.' 
Many of his productions were republished, most of them more than 
once, in England, and in a form which discovered the high estima- 
tion in which the writer was held. Of one of them, on the subject 
of episcopacy, the author of Hollis' Memoirs remarks, ' It is per- 
haps the most masterly performance, that a subject of that kind 
would admit of.' His discourse preached on the 30th of January, 
1750, has been recently republished, at the suggestion of the vener- 
able President Adams, to corroborate the claim of this state to the 
earliest assertion of the rights and liberties of our country. In 
speaking of Dr. May hew, this great man has said, * to draw the 
character of Mayhew would be to transcribe a dozen volumes. This 
transcendent genius threw all the weight of his great fame into the 
scale of his country in 1761, and maintained it there, with zeal and 
ardor till his death.' The most valuable of his publications might, 
probably, be comprised in three volumes octavo. 

It may be thought by some that Dr. Mayhew's ' Letter of reproof 
to Mr. John Cleaveland ' is in some degree an exception to the re- 
mark I have made on page 48. It appears to me otherwise. But 
if it is so, it can only be said that there was great provocation. Mr. 
Cleveland had misrepresented his sentiments, and had accused him 
of discarding doctrines (especially the doctrine of the atonement) 
' in the faith of which he was most firm and steady.' These charges 
the Dr. warmly and indignantly repels. His belief in the unity of 
the Godhead is unquestionable. 






dr. Howard's ministry. 

The churches invited to attend the ordination of Mr. Howard, 
were the First church, the New South church, and the North church, 
in Boston, the First church in Cambridge, the West church in 
Bridgewater, the three churches then in Hingham, one of which is, 
since, Cohasset, the church in Brookline, the Second church in Pem- 
broke, the First church in Roxbury, the church in Weymouth, the 
church in Medfield, the church in Wallingsford, Conn., and the 
church in Newton. All attended, except c the church in Weymouth, 
which was unavoidably prevented.' The salary voted Dr. Howard, 



68 NOTES. 

at the time of his settlement, was two pounds, thirteen shillings and 
four pence per week. 

August 17, 1773, Mr. Martin Gay was chosen deacon, and accept- 
ed the office on the 3d of October. He went to Nova Scotia with the 
British troops when they evacuated the town, but returned, and died 
in Boston, January 1809, aged 82. He was the son of Dr. Gay, of 
Hingham, and did not dishonor the name of his excellent father. 

August 18th, 1793, Charles Cushing, Esq. and Joseph Nye, Esq. 
were chosen deacons. Deacon Cushing died November 7th, 1810, in 
the 77th year of his age. I cannot do justice to the memory of this 
most excellent man. His memory is very dear to me. So mild, so 
humble, so benevolent, so patient, even cheerful, in the severest af- 
fliction, so enlightened, so pious ; so faithful, minutely faithful, in 
the discharge of public duties, so tenderly kind and affectionate in 
the relations of private life, I know of no duty which he neglected, 
no office of kindness which he left unperformed. e Mark the perfect 
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.' 

His name will be found at the head of the class of 1755, in the list 
of graduates at Harvard College, a class containing several distin- 
guished names, most distinguished, that of John Adams. 

Deacon Nye left the church in April, 1801. During the last years 
of his life, he resided at Cambridgeport. He died April 2d, 1816, 
aged 73. He was a good man, and his memory is blessed. 

May 3d, 1801, John Avery, Esq. was chosen deacon. He died on 
the 7th of June, 1806, aged 67. The period of my acquaintance 
with" him was so short, that I might be allowed to pass slightly over 
him. But I am not disposed to do so. I cannot forget the interest 
he took in my settlement, nor the affectionate kindness with which 
he uniformly treated me. My feeble testimony to his worth is of 
little importance. He was universally known, and as universally 
esteemed. For many years, amidst the contentions and changes of 
party, he was Secretary of this Commonwealth, invariably maintain- 
ing his independence, and holding fast his integrity. In private life, 
as a husband, a father and friend, he was all that could be reason- 
ably desired. In sickness he was patient, in death composed and 
tranquil, deriving satisfaction from the retrospect of his life, but 
placing his reliance upon the mercy of God through the mediation 
of Jesus Christ. He was a graduate of Harvard College, of the 
class of 1759. 



NOTES. 



69 



Whilst the British troops were in possession of the capital, they 
desecrated the bouse in which the society worshipped, by using it as 
a barrack.* Deprived of their accustomed place of assembling, they 
were scattered, and a part of them, with their pastor, retired to Nova 
Scotia. Known to be a firm and zealous friend to the independence 
of his country, it was with much difficulty that Mr. Howard obtain- 
ed permission to depart. 

The reasons for his removal to Nova Scotia, and some transactions 
after his arrival there, will be given in the words of one who had the 
best opportunity of knowing the facts, and a deep interest in them. 
1 When he was a candidate for the ministry, he had an invitation to 
go to Cumberland, N. S., to preach. His health being delicate, and a 
voyage having been recommended to him, he complied with the re- 
quest. How long he tarried I do not recollect, but believe between 
one and two years ; it was long enough, however, to make many 
friends. Some time after he was fixed in Boston, an application was 
made by a society in Annapolis to send them a minister. He pro- 
posed to the Rev. A. Morse to go, who accepted the offer. He was 
with them a number of years and gave and received much satisfac- 
tion, till his health declined and he wished to try native air. The 
society increased so much in number, and the means of support, that 
they concluded that the river should divide the parish. He was again 
requested to find a suitable person to take charge, of the parish at 
Annapolis, while Mr. Morse continued in Granville, but he had not 
succeeded, when the public difficulties, foretold by the few, were felt 
by the many, and a sad necessity to quit house and home seemed 
the common lot of the inhabitants of Boston. Mr. Howard and his 
people generally considered it such. They came to him for counsel 
and comfort. Distress seemed to increase the sympathy which al- 
ways existed between them. One evening, to relieve for a moment 
the sense of sorrow which pervaded the hearts of those who were to 
part, perhaps forever, with his usual placid manner he said, " Sup- 
pose we were all to go to N. S. ; they have sent to me for another 
minister ; as they like my choice, perhaps they might like me also j 
at least we shall be quiet in that wilderness." Capt. Job Prince 
seized upon the idea and replied, " I have a vessel ; if you will take 

* The expense incurred by the parish in consequence of the occupation of the 
fehurch by the British troops, was £190 4*. 



70 



NOTES. 



my family it shall be at your disposal. I shall stay to take care of 
my property. " Another member of the society said, " I will take 
the command, and my family also." Thus that which was designed 
to lighten the weight for a moment, suddenly grew into a plan. The 
vessel was put into order directly, and all the preparations possible 
were made. After a tedious voyage of a month, we arrived in An- 
napolis Eoyal. From the time we were within reach of boats and 
voices, we were assailed by distressing importunities for bread. The 
provinces, which had been their granary, were now closed to them. 

* This prospect was bad indeed, but we landed, and though there 
was but little of the appearance of comfort, we found much. Mr. 
Williams and Mr. Winnet, two of the most important men, tried to 
soften our disappointment, and entertained us with great hospitality 
till we were ready to leave the port, which we did in a few days, and 
went eighteen miles up the river to the place of our destination. 
When we landed, the same distressing applications were made, till 
they were convinced we had nothing more than our present necessi- 
ties required. We were speedily accommodated with a place of resi- 
dence in one of the best houses, and experienced every degree of 
kindness it was in their power to offer.' 

Soon after his arrival, Mr. Howard was arrested and carried to 
Halifax, but was soon liberated and restored to his family. An offer 
was made to rescue him, and carry him to Machias, but it was re- 
jected by Mrs. Howard, who knew what would be the sentiments of 
her husband in regard .to it, who was conscious of his innocence of 
any real crime, and was unwilling to put in hazard the life of the 
officer who was only engaged in the performance of his duty. Whilst 
he was in Halifax, he was treated with kind attention, and preached 
in one of the churches. The cause of his arrest, as far as 1 can 
ascertain, was a letter written by Gen. Gage to the Governor of Hali- 
fax, after Mr. Howard's application to go to Nova Scotia had been 
refused, and on the apprehension that he might privately withdraw 
himself. On granting him permission, Gen. Gage wrote a second 
letter, which did not arrive in season to prevent his being conveyed 
to Halifax, but effected his immediate liberation. It was his opinion 
from what he saw, that ' the province might easily have been set in 
a flame, but as it appeared to him no efforts in the power of the peo- 
ple to make, could mend their condition, he thought it his duty, as 
it was always his practice, to soothe them by sympathy, and en- 



NOTES. 71 

lighten them by religious and moral instruction, both in public and 
private.' * I distinctly remember a little circumstance which will 
evidence his manner. He and I were walking, and stopped to watch 
some young men screwing hay for the troops in Boston. We saw 
they were about putting some stones into the bundles to increase their 
weight ; it was rather a merry than a serious fraud, for they were 
not to be benefitted. His mild queries soon led them to question the 
right, and abandon the design, and I doubt whether it was ever done 
in that neighborhood afterward. These may be deemed trifles, but 
they rest in my mind as strong proofs of his earnest and successful 
efforts to serve these poor people ; and the great attention to his 
public instruction, the great and uniform affection and respect with 
which we were all regarded, and the grief they evidenced at parting 
with him who had been their pastor for fifteen months, convinces me 
that they were benefitted by this short residence among them.' 

These particulars will be interesting to those, and they are not a 
few, who honor and love the memory of this eminently good man. 

On his return to Boston, after an absence of about fifteen months, 
he found his society, from death, emigration and other circumstances, 
reduced to a mere handful. This circumstance, with the state of 
the times, had much abridged their means of supporting their min- 
ister, and they stated to him their apprehensions that the society 
must be dissolved. Mr. Howard, who * sought not theirs, but 
them, 9 replied that ' he would receive whatever compensation they 
would give him, and would continue with them while three families 
remained.' He further agreed ' to accept the contribution that 
should from time to time be collected and paid him during his min- 
istry, as a full compensation, any agreement with the society previ- 
ously made notwithstanding.' At a subsequent period, he offered to 
relinquish a considerable sum that was due to him, but this was 
refused, and he was afterwards paid with compound interest. A 
detail of the transactions of the society at this period, would reflect 
the highest honor upon them. 

In February, 1777, the new pews which had been erected instead 
of those which were destroyed by the British forces, were appraised, 
those which bordered on the middle aisle at twelve pounds, and those 
on the side aisles, at ten pounds each. 

March 16th, 1777, it was ■ voted that, in consequence of the ex- 
traordinary price of the necessaries of life, Rev. Mr. Howard's 
salary be raised to three pounds twelve shillings a week.' 



79 NOTES. 

October 6th, 1777, it was < voted that Rev. Mr. Howard's salary 
"be raised to seven pounds per week, for six months to come.' 

Dec. 11th, 17^0, Mr. Howard's salary was fixed at four pounds 
per week. In proportion to the number of families in the parish, 
this was probably the largest paid in town. 

November 10th, 1782. The thanks of the society were given to 
' Capt. William Todd, Mr. Callender and the other gentlemen, who 
have been so assiduous and faithful in carrying on in a regular 
manner, that delightful part of public worship, singing. 9 I have 
recorded this vote, because the singing at that time was universally 
commended, and is spoken of at this day, as having been superior 
to any in the town. 

Dr. Howard was taken ill on Monday, the 6th of August, 1804, 
and died the Monday following, at the age of 71. His disorder, as 
I understand, was angina pectoris. He was buried on the 15th in 
the north burial place. His friend Dr. Willard, President of the 
University, preached at his funeral an excellent sermon from Rev. 
ii. 10, which he modestly declined printing. The first prayer was 
by Dr. Lathrop, the concluding prayer by Dr. Eliot. The bearers 
were President Willard, Dr. Lathrop, Dr. Eckley, Dr. Eliot, Mr. 
Porter, of Roxbury, and Mr. Emerson. He was a native of the firsc 
parish in Bridgewater, was graduated at Harvard College in 1758, 
and was a tutor in that seminary, in 1766. He was a member 
of most of our societies for the promotion of literary, charitable 
and religious objects, and an officer of many of ttiem. He was 
also an overseer, and a fellow, of the college. His first wife, to 
whom he was married Dec. 1771, was the widow of his prede- ' 
cessor. She died April 12th, 1777, at the age of 44. His second 
wife was the daughter of his early friend, Dr. Gay, of Hingham. 
He left one son, who bore a striking resemblance to his father in his 
person and his disposition, and who may most justly be characterized, 
in the language of the apostle concerning Luke, as ' the beloved phxj- 
sician.' Dr. John C. Howard died August 11th, 1810, aged 38. 
His widow, a daughter of James Swan, Esq., and four children, at 
this time, survive him. 

The names of the gentlemen who were members at different times 
of the Standing Committee of the society, from 1778 to the end of 
Dr. Howard's ministry, are *Job Prince, *Daniel Jones, *Thomas 
Walley, *Samuel Eliot, *Thomas Foster, # Edward Carnes, *John 



NOTES. 



73 



Gill, *John Winthrop, *Zechariah Brigden, James Swan, * Joseph 
Billings, *Bossenger Foster, William Foster, ^Nathaniel Patten, 
^Stephen Bruce, *Benjamin Coolidge. *Mungo Mackay, Samuel Gore, 
♦Joseph Blake, *Charles dishing, John Tucker, *John Derby, *Thos. 
Dennie, *Joseph Nye, Thomas K. Jones, *Job Prince, * James Prince, 
Caleb Loring, Ebenezer Gay. The last of these was elected the 8th 
of March, 1801. 

Of the sixty-six who were admitted to full communion during the 
ministry of Dr. Howard, eighteen are now living. 

The character of Dr. Howard has been drawn by one who well 
knew him, and who, I need not say, is in all respects qualified to do 
him justice. 



SINCE THE FIRST OP JANUARY, 1806. 

The number of proprietors on the first of January, 1806, was 
forty. Twenty-two of them are now alive. 

The churches invited to form the council at the ordination, were 
the Congregational churches in Boston, the church in Dorchester, 
the First church in Roxbury, the church in Brookline, and the South 
church in Bridgewater. The Rev. Professor Ware of Harvard Uni- 
versity was also invited. 

*Mr. Channing of Boston made the introductory prayer, *Mr. 
Porter of Roxbury preached from John xvii. 17., *Mr. Sanger of 
Bridgewater offered the ordaining prayer, Professor Ware gave the 
charge, *Mr. Buckminster the right hand of fellowship, and *Mr. 
Harris of Dorchester concluded with prayer. Of the thirteen min- 
isters who were present, and assisted in council on that occasion, 
only six remain. Since that period, all the Congregational churches 
in town have been deprived of their pastors excepting one, and some 
of them more than once. 

During the first part of the month of March, 1806, the old house 
for public worship was taken down, and on the 4th of April the cor- 
ner stone of the new house was laid by the minister, and an aged 
man, Mr. Homer, who remembered the building of the first house, 
and was present at the ordination of each of the ministers. There 
was no parade ; the service was simple, as it should be on such an 

vol i. 7 



74 NOTES. 

occasion, consisting only of an address to the throne of grace. The 
agents for erecting the new house were *Mungo Mackay, *Thornas 
Dennie and * James Prince, Esqrs. The superintendent, *Mr. Wil- 
liam Todd. 

The old church was a wooden building, originally with a steeple. 
The British troops, suspecting, from the elevated situation of the 
church, that the steeple had been used for the purpose of giving 
signals to the continental troops at Cambridge, took it down in 
1775. 

The old church was razed without any accident ; but in the erec- 
tion of the new church on the Cth of June, Mr. William Jacobs, a 
respectable master workman, who was one of the contractors for the 
mason's work, fell from the upper stage at the north-west corner of 
the building, and soon expired. He was 28 years old. 

As soon as the determination of the society to erect a new house 
of worship was known, they received invitations from the Old South 
church, the New North church, the church in Brattle street, and 
King's chapel, to unite with them in worship till the house should 
be completed. 

The proceedings of the Old South church and the letter of their 
minister, the late excellent Dr. Eckley, will serve as a specimen of 
the spirit which was breathed by them all, and of the union and 
harmony which at that time subsisted between all the Congregation- 
al churches in the town. 

* At a meeting of the brethren of the Old South church and con- 
gregation, after public service on Sabbath afternoon, the 26th day 
of January, 1806 : 

* It being known that the church and religious society at West 
Boston, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Lowell, contemplated 
the taking down their present building in order to erect a new edifice 
for the public worship of God, — and during the time occupied in 
the undertaking, *might be in need of some suitable place for the en- 
joyment of the usual services of religion, — therefore 

* Voted unanimously j that it would be highly gratifying to this 
society, if their brethren of the West Boston Society would meet 
with them for worship in their house, — the two pastors jointly lead- 
ing in the public devotions : — 

* Voted unanimously, that the Rev. Dr. Eckley and the Standing 



NOTES. 75 

Committee of this society, be a Committee for the business of invit- 
ing the West Boston Society to their house of worship — with as- 
surances of their Christian esteem/ and of the purpose to render 
the accommodations during their continuance with them, as agree- 
able and convenient as possible. 
« By order, 

'JOSEPH ECKLEY, 

' Minister of the Old South Society. 
'Charles Cushing, Esq., 
* Chairman of the Committee of the Went Boston Society. 

These votes were communicated with the following letter : 

Charles Cushing, Esq., 

Sir, — With much satisfaction I communicate to you the enclosed 
votes. Be assured not only of my hearty concurrence in the wish 
that they express, but of my personal respect and esteem for the re- 
ligious society, to which you are requested to present them, as soon 
as is convenient. 

1 With due regard, I am, sir, 

1 Your friend and obedient servant, 

1 JOSEPH ECKLEY. 
•January 27, 1806.' 

It was most convenient for the society to worship at the chapel, 
having the use of that church for the afternoon, and they can- 
not forget the cordiality with which they were received and the 
kind attention with which they were treated, by the society assem- 
bling there, and their much respected pastor. 

The new church was opened for public worship on the day of the 
annual thanksgiving. The services were performed by the minister 
of the church. The sermon was from Psalm c. 4, 5. 

1 The house is 75 feet long, and 74 wide ; the walls 34 feet high ; 
the porch 17 feet wide, and 36 feet long, the walls of the porch 73 
feet high, and finished after the Boric order. On the porch is erect- 
ed a cupola 29 feet high, which is finished in the Ionic order. The 
house contains 112 pews on the lower floor, and 46 in the galleries, 
besides suitable accommodations for the singers. The pulpit, and 
the front of the gallery, are finished in the modern composite order. 
The ceiling has a dome in its centre, 42 feet in diameter at the base ; 



76 



NOTES. 



the horizontal part of the ceiling is ornamented with pannels, fans, 
&c, and the house warmed by four close stoves fitted to chimnies at 
proper distances in the walls of the building." There is an excel- 
lent clock in the inside, a donation from the late John Derby, Esq., 
at that time a most respectable and valuable member of the society, 
who died the 5th of December, 1812. An organ was first used in 
the service, January 18th, 1818. It was made in London. The 
outside clock was procured by subscription, the town contributing 
one hundred dollars. It was made by an ingenious artist, Mr. 
Stowell of Worcester, and cost, with the dial, four hundred and 
fifteen dollars. The bell was made at Gloucester, in England, 
174o. Two were broken in the short space before the present one 
was procured. 

The expense of building the new church was, $39,984.99, the 
whole expense, including land, $52,321.03. From this must be 
deducted the amount accruing from the sale of the old house of wor- 
ship, after reserving the bell, &c, and fifty dollars given to the 
African Baptist Society, towards building their meeting-house,* 
leaving the cost of the new church at $51,921.60. 

The pews on the lower floor were offered for sale on the 20th of 
November. The amount of sales the first day, was forty-nine thou- 
sand nine hundred and fifty-five dollars. Seven hundred dollars was 
the highest price, and three hundred and fifty the lowest price, given 
for a pew. 

The present minister is a native of Boston, was graduated at 
Harvard College, was matriculated at the University of Edinburgh, 
Scotland, in 1802 ; attended the lectures of Dugald Stewart, Hunter, 
Hope, Meiklejohn Moodie and others, and pursued his theological 
studies there till the winter of 1801-5 ; in which year he returned to 
Boston, and was settled at the West church, January 1st, 1806. 

After the death of the lamented Deacon Cushing, Messrs. Samuel 



* The pulpit was also transferred to the African Baptist church. This pulpit in 
which the first four ministers were ordained, and had preached, was recovered by 
purchase at the suggestion of the Senior minister in ]853, chiefly through the 
efficient exertions of Dr George C. Sh at tuck, and placed in the Sunday School 
room, to be used by the ministers and superintendents in addressing the school. 
There may it long remain, a silent, though effective m6nitor of the momentous 
truths that have been taught in it ! 



NOTES. 77 

Eliot, Thomas K. Jones, Daniel P. Parker and William C. Hunne- 
man officiated as deacons daring the communion service, till the 
office was filled. 

March 1st, 1818, Messrs. Elias Haskell, William C. Hunneman 
and Amos Clarke, were inducted into office, as deacons of the church. 
Deacon Clarke resigned his office July 4th, 1819, and has removed 
to Salem, where he is the preceptor of an academy, and an occasion- 
al preacher. 

The church considers it as improper to give a c dismission ' to, or 
to require a * dismission ' from, any other church, but, in both cases, 
deems a recommendation sufficient to entitle the persons so recommend- 
ed, to a participation of the privileges of the church, and to subject 
them to its watch and discipline. It considers the Christian church 
as ' one body in Christ,' and each particular church as a member of 
that one body. It sees incalculable difficulty, and great impropriety, 
in considering persons as still under its care, who have removed to a 
distance, and have been unable, or unwilling, to transfer their con- 
nection to another church. In this respect, it is not alone j but if 
if it were, it would assert its right to conduct its own affairs at its 
own discretion, and it will not be subject to the control of any other 
body, { no, not for an hour.' 

The profession of faith used in the church at the settlement of the 
present minister, as propounded by the minister, was as follows : 
* You do solemnly declare that you believe Jesus Christ to be the Son 
of God, and the Saviour of the world ; that the Scriptures of the 
Old and New Testament are the word of God, and perfect rule of 
faith and obedience j that you desire thankfully to accept salvation, 
through Jesus Christ, in the way prescribed in the gospel ; resolv- 
ing, by the help of Divine grace, to live in obedience to his holy 
commandments, and looking for the mercy of God unto eternal 
life.' 

April 3d, 1808, an unknown friend presented the silver urns 
which are now used in the communion service. The plates now 
used were purchased June 27th, 1820 ; the baptismal basin June, 
1811. 

January 18th, 1820, Samuel Eliot, Esq. died. He had officiated 
for several years as an officer of the church. If diligence in busi- 
ness, unbending integrity, the successful cultivation of a mind 
naturally strong and vigorous, if real, though unostentatious, benevo- 
7* 



78 



NOTES. 



lence, warm and unceasing emotions of gratitude for the bounties of 
Providence, fortitude in suffering, and the uniform practice of the 
duties of piety and devotion, if all these deserve commemoration, 
then should Mr. Eliot be commemorated in the history of a church 
for which he always manifested a strong regard, and of which he 
was a member for more than fifty years. During his lifetime, he 
gave twenty thousand dollars for endowing a professorship of Greek 
literature at Harvard University, but with a strict injunction of 
secrecy in regard to the donor ; and it was not until after much 
solicitation on the part of the only person who knew it, and the sug- 
gestion that it might do good, that he consented to have the secret 
revealed after his death. Mr. Eliot was also the principal benefactor 
to the society for the relief of ministers' widows, and a member of 
several other societies for the promotion of useful purposes. He was 
a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society. Of his large estate, amounting to about 
twelve hundred thousand dollars, he left ten thousand dollars to the 
Massachusetts Hospital for the Insane, three thousand dollars to the 
society for the relief of ministers' widows, and several thousand dol- 
lars more for the advancement of private comfort and happiness. 

The following gentlemen, in addition to several already mentioned, 
have, at different times, been members of the ' Standing Committee ' 
of the society, since the commencement of the year 1806, viz. *John 
Clarke Howard, * Andrew Cunningham, *Ozms Goodwin, *Benjamin 
Weld, Ebenezer Francis, Daniel P. Parker, *Nathaniel P. Russell, 
*John Mackay, *Nathaniel Smith, *Thacher Gocldard, Thomas Cor- 
dis, *Phineas Upham, * James S. Colburn, Samuel B. Doane, *Phin- 
eas Foster, *George C. Shattuck, Winslow Lewis, *John Biuney, and 
Zebedee Cook. Those with an asterisk annexed to their names, with 
*Thomas Dennie, *Thomas K. Jones and Caleb Loring, Esqrs. are 
the present committee. Other gentlemen have been, at various times, 
solicited to serve in the office, but have declined. *Charles Cushing, 
Esq., * James Prince, Esq., and N. P. Russell, Esq. have been, suc- 
cessively, the treasurers of the society during this time. The salary 
of the minister is two thousand dollars per annnra, It is paid quar- 
terly, and with the most exact punctuality. 

It should have been noticed in the account of Dr. Mayhew and 
Dr. Howard, that, in addition to their stated salary, they had the 
proceeds of a contribution on Fast and Thanksgiving days. I be- 



NOTES. 79 

lieve this was discontinued before the death of Dr. Howard, because 
there was an equivalent paid in the increased sum statedly given 
him. 

Since 1800, the following persons, whose parents belonged to the 
parish at the time, have been graduated at Harvard College, viz : 
*Daniel Jones, Francis Carnes, *Charles Eliot, Thomas M. Jones, 
* James Prince, *Beuj. L. Weld, Francis E. Goddard, Charles G. 
Loring, *William J. Loring, Joseph Baxter, * William H. Eliot, Sam- 
uel A. Eliot, *John D. Wells, George W. Otis, Winslow Lewis. ' The 
following named were baptized at the church, but their parents, at 
the time of their graduation, did not belong to the parish, viz. *An- 
drew Foster, *John Foster, *Thomas Fester, and * James Foster, 
*Benjamin Lincoln, and * James Otis Lincoln. Of those baptized at 
the church, who were graduated previous to 1800, only three are 
known to be living, Harrison Gray Otis, *George Blake and *Eben- 
ezer Gay. 

Three or four have been settled in the ministry. Mr. Charles El- 
iot, who died September 29th, 1813, had just commenced preaching. 
The character of this excellent young man will be found in the 
Christian Disciple for 1813, and in the papers of that day. A vol- 
ume of his writings was printed but not published. It does much 
honor to his memory. Daniel Newcomb, M. D., a member of this 
church, had his life been spared, would, probably, have been a dis- 
tinguished member of the faculty with which he was connected, as 
well as an ornament to his Christian profession. He died at his 
father's house in Keene, May 13th, 1809, aged 24. 

I have thus given all the particulars relating to the society, which 
I thought could possibly be interesting to any of its members. The 
intelligent reader, who is at all acquainted with human nature, and 
with the variety in the opinions and feelings of mankind, will not 
find fault with the minuteness of the detail. The history might, 
perhaps, have been more interesting,, if, instead of uninterrupted 
harmony and peace, there had been scenes of contention and disor- 
der ; but the Christian philanthropist will not regret that such 
scenes have not been exhibited. No vote is on record, either in the 
church or society, which indicates the smallest deviation from perfect 
good will. There is nowhere to be found greater affection, or more 
unreserved confidence between a minister and his people, than has 
always existed in this society, no where greater liberality of feeling 



80 NOTES. 

and conduct, no where more regular attendance on public worship, 
or more diligent attention to the other duties of religion. Much, 
however, is there to lament, and much to reform. ' May the God of 
peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, make us 
perfect in every good work to do His will, working in us that which 
is well pleasing in His sight ! ' 

It may be that a century will have elapsed before another 
history is given of this religious society. At that period, when 
the writer of this shall have long passed away, and no memorial re- 
mains of him but his name in the succession of the pastors of this 
church, may he who shall take a retrospective view of its history, be 
able to present as fair a statement as it is the happiness of the pres- 
ent minister to record. 



SERMON IV. 



[Preached at the State Prison in Massachusetts, Nov. 29th, 1812.] 

THE GOODNESS OF GOD SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 

Romans, ii 4. — the goodness of god leadeth thee to 

REPENTANCE. 

In addressing an audience like the one which is 
now before me, it may, at first view, appear extra- 
ordinary that, of all the attributes of God, I should 
select his goodness for the theme of my discourse. 
Deprived of that liberty, which is usually considered 
as the most precious birthright of man ; prohibited, 
in a great measure, that social intercourse, to which 
the instincts of our nature forcibly impel us ; and 
destitute of those domestic enjoyments which, next 
to religion, give the sweetest relish to human life, it 
may seem as if you, my friends, have but little 



* This sermon was necessarily composod in much haste. In com- 
mitting it to the press, the author has yielded to the wishes of 
friends whose judgment he respects, and who thought the publica- 
tion of it would be useful. The intelligent reader, recollecting the 
occasion and circumstances, will not be surprised at its plainness 
and simplicity. 



82 THE GOODNESS OF GOD 

reason to meditate on the goodness of God. His 
justice^ indeed, has appeared to overtake you, and, 
in exhorting you to repentance, you might think it 
proper for me to dwell on the further infliction of 
that justice, if you continue impenitent. But where 
have been the proofs of his goodness, and what 
motives can be drawn from thence for penitential 
sorrow. 

Listen to me, my hearers, with serious attention, 
and I will endeavor, in plain and simple language, 
to show you that God has indeed been good to you, 
and that the recollection of this goodness ought to 
lead you to repentance. 

In common with those of your fellow-creatures 
whose situation is apparently more favorable than 
yours, you have received the gift of life. Life is in 
itself a blessing, and, if rightly improved, is a source 
of much happiness. If you have not improved the 
blessing as you ought, if you have rendered life a 
source of unhappiness and misery, it is your own 
fault, and not — let me say it with reverence — the 
fault of God. It was good in Him to bestow life, 
and in bestowing it, it was his design to confer 
happiness. 

In common with others of your fellow-creatures, 
you have received the gift of reason. This raised 
you above the brutes of the field, rendered you ca- 
pable of acquiring knowledge and virtue, of holding 
intercourse with your fellow creatures, and of enjoy- 
ing felicity both here and hereafter. If you have 
abused and perverted this gift, it is your own fault, 



SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 83 

and not the fault of God. It was good in Him 
to bestow reason, and, in bestowing it, it was his 
design to promote your happiness. 

In common with others, you have received the 
gift of conscience, to deter you. from sin, or to 
admonish you of guilt. If this faithful monitor has 
been disregarded, and its reproaches stifled, it is 
your own fault, and not the fault of God. It was 
good in Him to bestow this gift, and it was his 
design that it should prompt you to virtue and 
happiness. 

In common with others of your fellow creatures, 
you have been possessed of parents and friends. 
Your parents watched over you, and, under God, 
provided a supply for your wants, when you were 
unable to take care of yourselves ; and many other 
of the friends whom God had given you, have 
probably added to your comfort and enjoyment. 
Some of you have undoubtedly had parents and 
friends, who were anxious to bring you up in the 
fear of God, and thus to make you a blessing to 
yourselves and to society. If you have not been 
sensible of the value of these blessings, or heeded 
the advice or admonition you may have received, it 
is your own fault, and not the fault of God. It was 
good in Him to bestow these blessings, and it was 
his design that they should promote your benefit 
and increase your happiness. 

In common with some of your fellow-creatures, 
you have been offered the gift of religion, of that 
religion which points out to you the path of duty 



84 THE GOODNESS OF GOD 

and happiness here, and which promises you, if yon 
accept of it, through the merits and mediation of 
Christ, the possession of perfect and everlasting 
enjoyment hereafter. If you have despised and re- 
jected this gift, if you have turned a deaf ear to the 
voice of those who urged you to accept of the terms 
of salvation, it is your own fault, and not the fault 
of God. He was good, infinitely good, in offering 
you so great a blessing ; and it was his design, that 
you should accept of it and be happy. 

In thus enumerating the instances of God's 
goodness towards you, my friends, I have necessa- 
rily confined myself to a general view of it. The 
particular circumstances of your past lives are best 
known to yourselves. You can, each of you, call 
up to mind numerous and essential benefits with 
which you have been favored. The enjoyment of 
health, relief in seasons of distress, escape in times 
of danger, the favorable opportunities you may have 
possessed, — however misimproved, — for gaining 
knowledge and piety, or for success in the world by 
honest industry. All these things, and many more 
of which each of you must be conscious, are proofs, 
strong and affecting proofs, — of the goodness of 
God. 

And now let me ask you, — let each one ask 
himself, — what return he has made to God for so 
much goodness ? — Alas, my friends ! the situation 
in which you are now placed is a most sad and 
impressive reply. But, even Jiere, even in your 
present circumstances, confined within the walls of 



SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 85 

this prison, you have reason to acknowledge and 
adore the goodness of God. Why were you not 
arrested in your career of iniquity by the hand of 
death, and hurried, with all your sins unrepented of, 
into the presence of an offended God ? It was, be- 
cause that God was good to you ; it was, because 
he would give you a longer space for repentance, 
not willing that you should perish, but that you 
should turn unto him and live. 

Reflect for a moment, how dreadful, how un- 
speakably dreadful, would have been your con- 
dition, if, at the instant you were perpetrating the 
crime for which you were condemned to this place, 
you had been called, not to an earthly tribunal, but 
to the tribunal of the Almighty, — of that Being 
who ' is of purer eyes than to behold evil,' and who 
4 cannot look upon iniquity,' but with the utmost 
abhorrence, — of that Being, who is not only able 
1 to destroy the body,' but can ' destroy both body 
and soul in hell.' 

Why, — I may further ask, — are you placed in a 
situation comparatively so comfortable, where you 
have the means of religious instruction and improve- 
ment, and where those who superintend this institu- 
tion, are so anxious to lessen the evils of your lot, 
instead of being secluded in a dark and gloomy cell, 
or confined to a place where you would be destitute 
of the advantages you here enjoy? — It is because 
God is good to you. 

Let me ask you again, What return have you 
made for all this goodness ? 



86 THE -GOODNESS OF GOD 

God gave you life, that yon might glorify him, 
and promote your own welfare and that of others. 
How unmindful have you been of the important 
ends for which life was bestowed upon you! In- 
stead of devoting it to the service of ,God, have you 
not devoted it to the service of the enemy of God 
and man ? Instead of promoting your own welfare 
and that of others, have you not been pursuing a 
course destructive of your own welfare, and highly 
injurious to the welfare of your neighbors ? In- 
stead of a blessing, have you not been a pest to 
society ? 

God gave you reason, that you might know and 
love and adore him, that you might fulfil your duty 
in this world, and make preparation for a better 
world. How much have you abused and perverted 
this precious gift ! It raised you above the level of 
the brute creation ; have not many of you, by drown- 
ing it in intemperance and debauchery, often sunk 
yourselves far below their level ? Instead of seeking 
to acquire a knowledge of God, have you not shown 
by your conduct that you ' desired not the know- 
ledge of his ways ? ' — Instead of glorifying God 
with the speech which he had given you, have you 
not often blasphemed his holy name and imprecated 
his vengeance upon yourselves and others ? Instead 
of fulfilling your duty in the world, and devoting 
your powers and faculties to an useful purpose, have 
you not neglected your duty, and employed your 
powers and faculties in devising and executing plans 
of mischief and wickedness ? — Instead of preparing 



SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 87 

for heaven, have you not been pursuing the broad 
way that leadeth to destruction ? 

God gave you conscience to deter you from sin, 
or to excite you to repentance for it. Instead of 
heeding this faithful monitor, have you not stifled 
its reproaches, and some of you even ' seared it as 
with a hot iron?' 

God gave you parents to take care of you when 
you were unable to take care of yourselves, and 
friends to promote your comfort and happiness in 
life. How dreadfully have you requited those pa- 
rents for their care of you, and how poorly have 
you fulfilled the claims of friendship ! 

Perhaps some of you have even abused the pa- 
rents who gave you birth ; have reviled them, have 
lifted up your unhallowed hands against them, or 
by your misconduct have brought down their heads 
in sorrow to the grave. — This may have been the 
case with some of you whose parents not only gave 
you birth, and took care of your infancy and child- 
hood, but endeavored to teach you your duty to your 
God and your neighbor, that you might be respect- 
able, useful, and happy ; who wept and prayed and 
labored for you. Oh, unfeeling, ungrateful men ! 
Where was the vengeance of the Almighty that 
it did not forever silence the tongue that was utter- 
ing reproachful words of a father or a mother ; that 
it did. not wither the hand that was raised to smite 
a parent ; that it did not at once arrest the guilty 
wretch in his mad career, and consign him to end- 
less woe? — How long-suffering, how compassion- 
ate is God ? 



88 THE GOODNESS OF GOD 

Perhaps some of you have wronged the friends 
who trusted to your friendship and confided in your 
honor; or have corrupted and ruined them. 

God offered you the gift of Religion. He pro- 
vided a way of salvation for you by Jesus Christ. 
He sent his son into the world to die, that you 
might live ; the just for the unjust, that he might 
bring sinners to God. Have you not despised the 
gift ? Have you not been unmindful of the suffer- 
ings and death of Christ on your behalf? Have 
you not turned a deaf ear to the invitations and 
warnings and threatenings of God's word ? Have 
you not neglected the means and opportunities of 
religious instruction? Have you not followed the 
devices and desires of your own evil hearts, and 
been careless about ' the one thing needful,' even the 
salvation of your immortal souls ? 

God has spared your lives, and given you a space 
for repentance in this place. How well you have 
requited this great and unmerited goodness, I can- 
not tell. But in the review of the goodness of 
God, and of your own ingratitude, disobedience, 
and guilt, let me exhort you, let me earnestly ex- 
hort you, to deep and sincere repentance. I would 
fain hope that there are many of you who can be 
touched with a sense of the goodness of God, and 
with sorrow for having sinned against so much 
light, and so much love. This is the foundation 
on which repentance should be built. This is the 
repentance that will be most acceptable to God. 

Bui if any of you are so hardened as to be 



SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 89 

unmoved by the recollection of the goodness of 
God, perhaps you may be affected by the view of 
his justice, which will assuredly be exercised upon 
you to the utmost, if you do not repent. An awful 
judgment day is at hand; it may come upon you 
unawares, and dreadful indeed will it be, if it find 
you unprepared for its arrival. Your portion will 
be ' weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.' 

Be persuaded, then ; be excited to repentance and 
prayer ; to seek earnestly for the forgiveness of your 
sins ; for an interest in your Saviour ; for peace with 
God. Let the sincerity of your repentance be man- 
ifested by a meek and quiet spirit, by respectful 
obedience to those who have the rule over you, by 
an obliging and affectionate conduct towards each 
other, and by a diligent performance of the work 
assigned you. 

Many of you are here but for a limited period, 
and some of you are perhaps soon to return again 
to that world, which was the scene of your tempta- 
tions and your guilt. Let me beseech you to en- 
deavor to carry with you such principles and habits 
as will enable you to redeem the time you have 
lost, and to compensate to society the injury you 
have done it. Perhaps you have parents still liv- 
ing ; prepare to be a comfort to them in their old 
age, to sustain their feeble hands, to support their 
faltering footsteps, and to smooth their passage to 
the grave. Perhaps you have a wife, tender and 
affectionate ; prepare to make her happy by a life of 
sobriety and virtue. Perhaps you have children, 



90 THE GOODNESS OF GOD 

whom by your example, if not by your precepts, 
you may have been training up to vice and misery. 
Prepare to be yet a blessing to them, and to teach 
them by your future conduct, that having tasted the 
fruits of sin, you have found them indeed bitter. 
Thus you will be respectable and happy. You will 
regain the affection and esteem you may have for- 
feited, and retrieve the character you have lost. 

Let those of you who are destined to finish their 
earthly course within these walls, endeavor to ac- 
quiesce in their lot, as the appointment of a wise 
and righteous Providence. Be thankful, my friends, 
that you have so many comforts, and especially that 
you have the means of spiritual improvement. Use 
these means with diligence, I entreat you. Be ear- 
nest in your prayers, and sincere in your repentance, 
and you may then hope, through Divine Mercy, 
when the term of your probation is ended, to ex- 
change a state of bondage and imprisonment, for 
' the glorious liberty of the sons of God.' 

The most painful and arduous task I have yet to 
fulfil, is in addressing you, my unhappy brethren, 
who, by the sentence of the law, are condemned to 
die. 

How awful, how exceedingly awful, is the situ- 
ation in which you are placed ! But a few short 
days will pass away, before you, who are now in 
health and in the vigor of life, will suffer an igno- 
minious death, and appear at the judgment seat 
of God. How shall I address you ? What words 
shall I use to impress you with a true sense of your 



SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 91 

condition, and of the importance of devoting the 
few remaining days of your life to diligent, to un- 
wearied preparation for eternity ? 

You have heard me discourse of the goodness of 
God, and you have a witness in yourselves, that he 
has been good to you. That you are allowed this 
space for repentance, and that the officer to whose 
charge you have been committed, is so attentive to 
your spiritual, as well as temporal welfare, is a 
strong, but unmerited proof of Divine goodness. 
Do not, — I conjure you, — do not cast away from 
you the privileges you now enjoy! 

How great, how aggravated, have been your 
offences, against the clearest light ; against the dic- 
tates of your reason ; against the admonitions of 
your consciences; against the warnings of your 
parents ; against the laws of society of which you 
could not be ignorant ; against the suggestions of 
the Spirit, and the invitations and threatenings of 
the word of God ; against love unparalleled, mercy 
unbounded ! 

Let the goodness of God lead you to repentance. 
You have a little space left to you ; fill it up with 
duty. Does any thing burden your consciences ? — 
Relieve yourselves from the burden. Can you re- 
pair any injury you have done to a fellow-creature 
by confession and acknowledgment ? — Do it. You 
are bound by all your hopes of happiness hereafter 
to do it. Have you kept back any thing that you 
have been exhorted to reveal ? — Do so no longer. 



92 THE GOODNESS OF GOD 

You cannot deceive God, and in his presence you 
will soon appear. 

My friends, this is the last time that I shall ad- 
dress you in this public manner. Soon, very soon, 
the curtain of eternity will hide you from my view ; 
and the execution of the awful sentence of the law 
will deprive you forever, of the means of instruc- 
tion, will place you beyond the reach of any warn- 
ing voice. I feel the solemn, the unspeakable, 
importance of my situation. Oh, that I could be 
instrumental in exciting, or encouraging, repentance! 
Oh, that I could be instrumental in bringing you to 
your Saviour and your God ! ' Turn ye to the strong 
hold, ye prisoners of hope!' ' The blood of Christ 
cleanseth from all sin.' Pray, — earnestly pray, 
— that you may be cleansed in that blood, and that 
you may secure an inheritance above, before it is 
forever too late. Let me, again and again, entreat 
you, by the goodness of God, by the tender mercies 
of your Saviour, by the convictions of your own 
consciences, and by the prospect of a judgment to 
come, to seize this moment, which is given you for 
repentance. 

Farewell, — a long farewell. — Go to your cells 
again, and in that solemn retirement, where God 
only is present with you, meditate on what has 
now been said. 

May God, of his infinite mercy, carry it home to 
your hearts, and to the hearts of each one of us. 
And at last, when our course of duty and of disci- 
pline on earth is ended, may we all meet again in 



SHOULD LEAD TO REPENTANCE. 93 



heaven, to celebrate forever the goodness of God, 
and the wonders of redeeming love ! — Amen. 



Note. — This sermon was preached at the State Prison, soon 
after the conviction of Samuel Tulley, an American, and John Dal- 
ton, an Englishman, who were under sentence of death for piracy 
and murder. They were convicted at the Circuit Court, October 
21, 1812. 

Tulley was executed, Dalton was pardoned, and afterwards visited 
the preacher of this sermon, who had ministered to them both in 
their cells after their conviction. He became, apparently, a serious 
Christian. His subsequent history is not known to the writer. 



SERMON V. 



THE EYE OF GOD ALWAYS UPON US. 

Genesis xvi. 13. — thou god seest me. 

When Moses delivered the law of God to the 
people of Israel who were assembled at the foot of 
Mount Sinai, he spake with all the authority which 
resulted from the presence of the Lawgiver. He 
could point to the mountain and say, ' Behold the 
glory which manifests the presence of the Most 
High!' 

* This short sermon was inserted in the volume of ' Practical Ser- 
mons ' recently published. An omission then occurred in it which 
is here supplied. 

The reason for that omission was this. The author thought of the 
sermon as one that it might be useful to insert in his forthcoming 
volume, but it was not to be found among his manuscripts. It was 
written many years since, though it had been repeated within ten or 
twelve years. 

The author referred to his memory for it, and wrote it off as it was 
printed in the volume of Practical Sermons. 

On recovering the original manuscript of the sermon, it appeared 
that there were variations in one or two sentences where the author 
was aware, at the time, that he was varying from the original, and 
the omission of part of a sentence ; and of one head of the sermon. 
It is here printed as it was originally written. 



THE EYE OF GOD ALWAYS UPON US. 95 

The effect was instantaneous and irresistible, — 
however transient. A response was heard from the 
whole congregation, ' All that the Lord hath spoken, 
we will do.' 

And such would doubtless be the effect, my 
hearers, if the visible presence of God should fill 
this place, and bring home to the hearts of the 
worshippers the solemn truth on which we are now 
meditating. If that eye which is never closed, but 
which is every moment directing its piercing glance 
at every heart, were now seen in its infinite bright- 
ness, penetrating the recesses of our hearts in this 
season of our apparent devotion, how powerful, 
how irresistible the influence ! 

Divest yourselves for a moment, in imagination, 
of the veil of flesh and blood that surrounds you, 
and the idea becomes reality. The eye of the mind 
discerns the presence of a Spirit filling this sanc- 
tuary. That Spirit is God. To the mental vision, 
an Eye appears of infinite brightness, penetrating 
the recesses of every heart. That Eye is God's. 

Let us open our minds to the influence of these 
reflections. 

1. We have come hither to worship. Let each 
one repeat to his own heart, ' Thou God seest me.' 
If there is an altar within me devoted to thy wor- 
ship, if the wood is laid, and the sacrifice prepared, 
and the fire kindled, Thou knowest it. If there is 
no altar there, and no sacrifice, and no flame of 
devotion, it is equally known to Thee. I may 
deceive others; I may deceive myself; but Thee 



96 THE EYE OF GOD 

I cannot deceive. Whilst I believe in Thy presence, 
may I feel its influence, that my thoughts may be 
pure ; my feelings devout ; and my purposes holy ; 
so that this which is l none other than the house 
of God,' may prove indeed to me 'the gate of 
heaven.' 

2. We are to leave this place and mingle again 
in the avocations of the world. Let us carry with 
us, and keep with us, the awful idea which now 
occupies our minds. Let it be ' a lamp to our feet 
and a light to our path,' to keep us from every false 
and evil way. 

In transacting the business of life, let each one 
say to himself, ' Thou God seest me ! ' c If I am 
upright in my intentions, sincere in my discourse, 
faithful to my engagements, honest and conscien- 
tious in my dealings, it is known to Thee. I may 
deceive others, but Thee I cannot deceive. I may 
take advantage of my neighbor's ignorance, and of 
the confidence he reposes in me ; I may reap the 
reward in unrighteous, ill-gotten gain ; but what 
will it avail me ? In every purpose of my heart ; 
in every word I have uttered ; in every deed I have 
done, the Eye of God was upon me, and an awful 
retribution awaits me.' 

And if such were the reflections of every heart 
in every moment, and in every place, they would 
have their foundation in nothing else than truth. 
As surely as there is a God who created all things, 
so surely must He be always present with the things 
He has made. ' He that planted the ear must hear ; 



ALWAYS UPON US. 97 

must hear ; He that ' formed the eye must see.' He 
whose almighty inspiration gave man understand- 
ing, must know ; and He will not suffer the work- 
ers of iniquity to go unpunished. 

In partaking of the enjoyments, no less than in 
transacting the business of life, the reflection, l Thou 
God seest me,' should be ever present with us. It 
should restrain us -within the limits of innocent 
indulgence, and inspire us with moderation in the 
pursuit of gratifications which in themselves are 
not sinful. If our minds are engrossed by the 
pleasures and amusements of the world, if they 
have that share of our attention, and that place in 
our hearts, which belong to higher and better ob- 
jects, if they unfit us for serious thought and devout 
aspirations ; it is known to God. 

In seasons of retirement, as well as amid the 
active scenes of life and the bustle of the world, 
we should cherish the recollection of the presence 
of God with us. In the deepest solitude, when no 
human step is near, the ear of faith discerns the 
footsteps of an ever present Deity. In the deepest 
shades of night, when every eye around is closed, 
the eye of faith discerns the ever-watchful Eye of 
Him who ' never slumbers nor sleeps.' We cannot 
hide ourselves from God. 

No, my young friends, you cannot hide your- 
selves from God. When the eye of parental fond- 
ness and affection is not upon you, the eye of God 
is upon you. You may deceive your parents, but 
you cannot deceive your God. If you are idle and 



98 THE EYE OF GOD ALWAYS UPON US. 

vicious, profane and irreligious, nay, if one evil 
thought is admitted, one wicked word uttered, one 
sinful action performed, He as surely beholds it, as 
if you could discern Him without you, or be con- 
scious of His presence within you. All your 
thoughts and words and actions are open before 
Him. 

Never indulge any thought, then, you would be 
unwilling He should know. Never speak any word 
you would be unwilling He should hear. Never 
perform any action you wouid be unwilling He 
should witness. When tempted to do wrong, call 
up to mind the words of the text, ' Thou God seest 
me,' to fortify your minds and keep you from sin. 
Be virtuous and good, and God, who sees you, will 
love and bless you. 

My text is in itself a sermon ; it is a lesson of 
instruction in four words. But, short as it is, if it 
has a proper influence upon us, it will effect all that 
religion was designed to effect. Carry it home with 
you, my hearers ; meditate upon it ; pray that you 
may be enabled to keep it in constant and vigorous 
exercise. It will be a shield to you against the 
assaults of temptation, and, with the grace of God, 
and the mediation of the blessed Saviour, it will 
conduct you in safety to a world where temptation 
has no power. 



SERMON VI. 



BLOOD GUILTINESS. 

[After the execution of a criminal, 1812. From the Second Edition.] 

Psalm li. 14. — deliver me from blood guiltiness, o god ! 

The painful conflict between a sense of justice 
and a feeling of mercy, by which, for some time, 
the public mind has been agitated, has subsided. 
It was terminated by the awful catastrophe of the 
last week. He, who was the object of so many 
hopes and fears and prayers, can no longer be the 
object of either. It can avail nothing to contend 
about his innocence or his guilt. It is too late to sue 
for his pardon. The day of his execution is past. 
The grave has closed upon him. His fate is ir- 
revocably fixed. He had broken the laws of the 
country in which he lived, and has paid the penalty. 
The demands of justice are satisfied. It remains 
for us who survive, to profit by his fife and his death, 
and, whilst each one of us repeats the prayer of the 
Psalmist in our text, i Deliver me from blood guilti- 
ness, O God ! ' to shun, with diligence and care, 
the path that leads to it. 



100 BLOOD GUILTINESS. 

Called, in the providence of God, to impart to 
this unhappy man the instructions and consola- 
tions of our holy religion, during the period of his 
confinement, and at the closing scene of life, it may 
be expected that I should bring from the prison and 
the scaffold some lessons of instruction, not only 
for myself but for you. 

Yet, what can I say that is not familiar to you 
all? What reflections can I suggest that have not 
already occurred to every considerate mind? It 
will be well, if, by the blessing of God, I can re- 
vive and strengthen any good impressions which 
have already been made. 

The scene of death is at all times affecting ; 
under circumstances like the present, it excites an 
interest peculiarly deep. We have seen a fellow- 
creature cut down in the morning of life, and this, 
not by the hand of God in the common course of 
nature, but by the hand of man. We had pre- 
viously seen him arraigned at the bar of justice on 
the dreadful charge of murder, tried by upright and 
impartial men, convicted and condemned. 

Before the awful scene has, in any degree, faded 
from our memory, and whilst the recollection of the 
facts and circumstances connected with it is yet 
strong and vivid, let us endeavor to fix in our minds 
the instruction it conveys. 

A slight review of some of the incidents of the 
life of this unfortunate man may develop the causes 
which led to his untimely end, and may furnish us 



BLOOD GUILTINESS. 101 

with admonitions and warnings far from being 
useless, though proceeding from a humble source. 

At the early age of nine years, whilst his mind 
was as yet immature, and his habits unformed, he 
left the house of his parents, and became a wan- 
derer in an evil world. It may be supposed that at 
that period he had received but little instruction in 
learning. He had in fact received none, or none 
that was important. He could neither read nor 
write. He had been blessed, however, (shall I not 
say it notwithstanding his miserable end ?) he had 
been blessed with a pious mother, who had taught 
him that there was a God who made him, and a 
Saviour who redeemed him, and who had instructed 
him in the duty of prayer. This circumstance, 
though to some it may appear to have been una- 
vailing, had a favorable influence, I have reason to 
think, on his future conduct ; perhaps, God grant it 
may be so ! it had a favorable influence on his 
eternal welfare. It tended, by the grace of God, to 
restrain him from that excess of guilt to which 
many have gone, and it prepared him, in some 
measure, for those religious counsels which were 
addressed to him in the last days of his life. 

Still, the religious knowledge he had acquired, at 
that tender age, could have been but small, and the 
impressions he had received were probably soon 
impaired, though not wholly obliterated, in his in- 
tercourse with the careless and ungodly. He was 
placed in a situation the most unfavorable to the 
germination of those seeds of piety which were 
9* 



102 BLOOD GUILTINESS. 

thus early implanted. He became, in the sfrictest 
sense, ' the companion of fools,' and his melancholy- 
fate, with that of many others, was foretold by the 
wise man when he said, ' a companion of fools shall 
be destroyed. 5 That such was the character of those 
with whom he usually associated, may be inferred 
from the fact, that he did not appear to be aware 
that any one was wholly free from the guilt of pro- 
faneness. He remembered bat little, probably, of 
the associates of his early days, and his recollection 
did not extend to any of the companions of his riper 
years who did not ' take the name of the Lord in 
vain.' 

In such society, as might be expected, he became 
licentious and profane, yet, if we may believe his 
own declaration, repeated when he was standing on 
the verge of eternity, and about to appear before 
an omniscient God, he was not so licentious and 
profane as many others. He was not an habitual 
swearer or drunkard ; his violations of the laws of 
God were often, if not always, followed by com- 
punction and sorrow and prayer for forgiveness, 
and, such was the force of early impressions, he 
seldom retired to rest without commending himself 
to the protection of the Almighty. 

Will you call this inconsistency? It is indeed 
so. Yet, how many lives are marked by the same 
inconsistency! How many lives are a constant 
alternation of sinning and repenting ! How many 
sacrifices ascend from the altar of a heart that is 
impure and unholy ! Let such remember, however* 



BLOOD GUILTINESS. 103 

let us all remember, that ' the sacrifice of the wicked,' 
of those who pray for forgiveness but continue im- 
penitent, ' is an abomination to the Lord.' 

Think not, my friends, that it is my intention to 
palliate the misconduct of the subject of these re- 
marks. It is my object to state facts, and, at the 
same time, to show the good effects of the small 
portion of religious instruction he had received. 
Had this instruction been more complete, and 
longer continued, and, whilst he was taught to 
reverence his bible, had he been enabled to read it, 
his fate w^ould, in all probability, have been entirely 
different. Instead of being convicted as a malefac- 
tor in early manhood, and doomed to an ignomi- 
nious death, he would probably have lived to be 
respectable and useful and happy. Instead of fur- 
nishing, by his untimely fate, a most impressive and 
awful example of the ill effects of evil company, of 
sabbath-breaking, and of frequenting the haunts of 
riot and licentiousness, he might, perhaps, have left 
behind him, at the close of a long life, the rich 
legacy of a good name to stimulate those within 
the reach of its influence, to piety and virtue. 

You are well acquainted with the events of that 
fatal day on which he committed the act of violence 
that terminated the life of a fellow-being, and caused 
the forfeiture of his own. It was the Christian Sab- 
bath, the day on which the Redeemer of the world, 
who had died for our sins, rose again for our justifi- 
cution, and thus sanctified this day, and consecrated 
it to the purposes of devotion. It was on this day 



104 BLOOD GUILTINESS, 

that this ill-fated man left the vessel to which he 
belonged and came on shore. In the streets he un- 
fortunately encounters one of his former comrades, 
and accosts him, not in the language which caused 
an emotion of devout and holy joy in the breast of 
the psalmist, ' Let us go into the house of the Lord.' 
No, my friends, far different from this ; he invites 
him to the house of mirth and levity ; he invites him 
to profane this holy day in idleness and drinking. 
The result need not surprise us. In this place of 
resort he was joined by others who had come with 
like intentions. ' Strong drink is raging.' The 
effects of it were soon visible. They became noisy 
and quarrelsome, and, though he himself does not 
appear to have been intoxicated or disposed to 
quarrel, he had ' cast in his lot among them,' and 
must abide the consequences. The consequences, 
alas, how fatal to him ! 

Are there any present who, like him, are in the 
habit of frequenting scenes of drunkenness and de- 
bauchery ? Let this victim read them from the bar of 
justice, from the dark and narrow cell, from the 
awful gibbet, from the silent grave, a solemn warn- 
ing. Here was a man whose disposition, according 
to the testimony of all who knew him, was mild 
and peaceable. He went to this place with no in- 
tention to do violence, and the deed for which he 
suffered, might, as he himself affirmed it was, have 
been the effect of agitation and inadvertence, and not 
of a settled purpose to destroy. Yet he did destroy, 
and is himself destroyed, Like him, whether in- 



BLOOD GUILTINESS. 105 

tending it or not, they to whom I address myself, 
may be led to strife and contention, to murder and 
to death. ' Enter not, then, into the path of the 
wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.' ' Avoid 
it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away.' ' For 
they sleep not, except they have done mischief, and 
their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some 
to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness and 
drink the wine of violence.' 

Let us now turn, for a moment, to another scene. 
The law of God, delivered of old in reference to 
murder was, ' Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall his blood be shed.' The man of whom I am 
now speaking, probably not aware that the blow 
he had given, would induce so fatal a result, made 
no attempt to escape. The arm of justice soon 
seized him. He was conveyed to prison, and, as 
we have already seen, was tried, convicted, and 
condemned to die.* 

It was not till the sentence of death had been 
passed upon him, that I was called to visit him, 
and to tender him the only consolations, which his 
condition admitted, — the consolations of religion. 
I found him, though ignorant, and in a great mea- 



* The melancholy consequence of this profanation of the Lord's 
day, furnishes an impressive caution to masters of vessels against 
allowing their sailors to go on shore on that day, except for purposes 
not inconsistent with the proper observance of it. It also teaches 
them the importance of paying more attention than they often do, 
to the principles and habits of their men ; and of accustoming them 
to a religious service on the Sabbath. 



106 BLOOD GUILTINESS. 

sure insensible of his sins, yet willing to receive in- 
struction, and grateful for that instruction, when 
afforded him. Like most men, he was ready to 
justify himself because be had not been so bad as 
others. ' He had indeed been guilty, but who was 
not guilty ; and how many were more guilty than 
himself? ' This, if not his language, was evidently 
the sentiment of his heart, and it prevented that 
humiliation and self-abasement which were so im- 
portant, so necessary. 

The. object was, to awaken him to repentance, 
and, after that repentance, to a reliance upon the 
mercy of God, through the merits and mediation of 
a crucified Redeemer. Nor was the penalty of 
transgression forgotten; for, whilst it was attempted 
to free him from every fear of the ' article of death,' 
whilst he was reminded that many die at an early 
period, that many die by the hand of violence, and 
that even to those who live to old age, life, in the 
review, appears but ' as a tale that is told ; ' he was 
instructed to fear Him who could not only destroy 
the body, but could destroy both body and soul in 
hell. To Him he was taught to look for the influ- 
ences of His grace to create within him a clean 
heart, and to renew a right spirit within him. 

The instruction that was given him appeared, by 
the blessing of God, not to be unavailing. He be- 
came, apparently more humble, more sensible of his 
sins, and more constant and fervent in his prayers. 
He certainly appeared to join with great sincerity 
in the prayers that were offered up for him in his 



BLOOD GUILTINESS. 107 

presence, and on many occasions, responded with 
great fervor, to every petition on his behalf. 

During a great part of his confinement, and espe- 
cially towards the close of it, he expressed a perfect 
willingness to die, if he was prepared for death. 
He constantly affirmed that he had no expectation 
nor hope of pardon, but from God. For this, he 
earnestly prayed, and this, at last, he trusted he had 
obtained. 

It may be thought that seclusion from the world 
and the uncomfortable circumstances in which he 
was placed, might have weaned him from the love 
of life. But, on the day of his death, when he 
came out again, unfettered, into the cheerful light 
of day, he expressed the same willingness to die ; 
and even at the place of execution, he did not shrink 
from death, but declared that he had no wish to 
live. 

In an interview I had with him, alone, on the 
morning of his execution, he repeated the solemn 
declaration that what he had before stated with 
regard to the transaction which reduced him to that 
miserable condition, was strictly true ; he persevered 
in this declaration to the last. Whether, at that 
awful moment, he was guilty of falsehood, God 
only knows. To Him we commended his departing 
spirit, and in His hands we must leave him. 

I have endeavored in this discourse to inter- 
sperse instruction with the narrative. I shall add 
but little more. 

In reminding parents of the importance of an 



108 BLOOD GUILTINESS. 

early and persevering attention to the instruction, 
especially the religious instruction, of their children ; 
and in admonishing children of the importance of a 
diligent improvement of that instruction, I need 
only point to this mournful example of the sad 
effects of the want of it. 

My hearers, it is recorded of the illustrious Boer- 
haave, on whom no higher praise can be bestowed 
than that he was a ' devout physician,' that whenever 
he saw a criminal carried to the place of execution, 
he was accustomed to ask himself, ' "Who knows 
whether this criminal is not less culpable than 
me V It is a question, which, in the recollection 
of the fate of this criminal, we should all of us put 
to ourselves. We may not, like him, have been 
guilty of a crime that would subject us to the 
severest penalty of the law, but have we not been 
favored with greater advantages for knowing our 
duty, and stronger motives to the performance of it 
than he was, and should we not remember that 
every one is accepted ' according to that he hath and 
not according to that he hath not ? ' 

The condemnation and death of this malefactor, 
has occasioned a powerful sensation in the public 
mind, and it is hoped that few or none have wit- 
nessed it, or heard of it, without emotions of 
sorrow. Let us not forget that we are all under 
sentence of death, and that to-morrow, to-day, at 
any hour, it may take effect. Are we ready ? — 
4 Lord make us to know our end and the measure 
OP OUR days, what it is, that we may know how 

FRAIL WE ARE 1 ' 






APPENDIX. 



BY ANOTHER HAND. 



Henry Phillips was born at Caermarthen, in Wales, March 25, 
1791. His father's name was Thomas Davis, who in early life 
was servant to an English gentleman, by name of Henry Phillips. 
This gentleman, being a bachelor and without connections, be- 
queathed his property to Davis during his life, and afterwards 
to the unfortunate subject of this memoir, who was baptized Henry 
Phillips Stonehewer Davis. After the death of Mr. Phillips, Davis 
kept a tavern for several years ; but is now a gardener at Caermar- 
then. His wife is dead ; but a son, who is a clerk in doctor's 
commons, and a daughter, who is respectably married, are now 
living in England. At an early age, Henry discovered an attach- 
ment to a sea-faring life. At nine years of age he took leave of his 
parents and went to sea with Capt. Long, in a brig bound to Leg- 
horn. But before he reached his destined port, he had the misfortune 
to be captured off Genoa by a French privateer ; he was carried into 
that port and confined a prisoner of war nine months ; he was then 
exchanged, and soon after arrived, with Capt. Long, in London. 
Capt. Long was arrested for debt, soon after his arrival, and com- 
mitted to the king's bench prison, where he remained three years. 
Phillips attended him, and another debtor, an American gentleman, 
in capacity of servant. On their discharge, he went to sea again. 
After he had made several voyages, he came to New York, where he 
remained on shore seven or eight months, till he had expended his 
money, and then sailed for Liverpool. After this he went to South 
America, thence to the Cape Good Hope, Senegal, Goree, and Sierra 
Leone, where he remained two years in the service of Col. Maxwell. 
He then accompanied the Colonel to London. Having the care of the 
Colonel's horses and some wild animals, he staid in London about 

vol. i. 10 



110 APPENDIX. 

six weeks, and then went to see his parents at Caermarthen. This 
was about four years ago ; and was the first time he had seen his 
native place since he left his parents at nine years of age. His 
mother was now dead. He tarried with his father three or four 
months, and then returned to London, where he shipped on board 
an English transport, and sailed as second mate to Gibraltar. 
Here he remained several months, and then visited several ports in 
the Mediterranean. In July, 1815, he arrived at Baltimore. After 
this he made two voyages across the Atlantic and one to New 
Orleans, and arrived at Marblehead about the first of September, 
1816. He remained there about a week, and then came to Boston, 
where he found employment as a laborer, for about three weeks, on 
board vessels fitting for sea. About the first of October, he took 
lodgings at the Roe Buck tavern, near the Old Market, and soon 
after entered the service of the United States, on board the Revenue 
Cutter, commanded by Capt. Trevett. After this he occasionally 
came on shore, and usually passed his time at the * Roe Buck.' In 
the afternoon of Sunday, December 1st, he came on shore. He 
met a brother sailor in the street and invited him to Mrs. Foster's, 
who kept the Roe Buck tavern, to drink grog. He spent the after- 
noon and evening at different boarding houses, and about nine 
o'clock at night returned to Mrs. Foster's. Mrs. Foster had 
been to a lecture ) and while her son was looking for the text, 
Gaspard Denegri, an Italian, blew out the candle. Phillips took the 
candle and said, ' If any one blew it out again, he would blow out 
his brains,' or 'knock him down,' or 'give him a clip;' for the 
witnesses testified differently in regard to the words. Upon this 
a foreigner by the name of Vautier, one of Denegri's companions, 
endeavored to provoke Phillips to fight with him ; but he refused, 
till Vautier thrust his fist a second time into Phillips's face, who 
then manifested a disposition to fight, but was prevented by Mrs. 
Foster. In a short time this disorder subsided, and Denegri and his 
companion went away. In about half an hour Denegri returned; 
and, while he was remaining peaceably in the kitchen, it was suggested 
that he had a knife. The idea of an Italian armed with a knife 
created a general alarm. Upon this Mrs. Foster put him out of the 
house and told him to go home. But he remained about the house 
and knocked at the front door. After a few minutes he went around 
to the back door and was followed by Phillips, armed with a logger- 



APPENDIX. Ill 

head. While he was standing at the door, Phillips called out to him, 
4 Halloo, shipmate,' and immediately gave him a blow on the head 
with the loggerhead, which brought him to the ground. He lan- 
guished till the 8th of December, and then died, Phillips frequently 
visiting him while he lived. Phillips's trial commenced at Boston 
on the 9th of January, and ended on the 10th. He was found guilty 
of murder, and received the sentence of death. He was executed 
on the 13th of March. According to the testimony of those that 
knew him, he was remarkable among his shipmates for sobriety and 
good nature, and commended by his officers for his integrity and 
fidelity. With respect to the outrage that cost him his life, he uni- 
formly declared he had no intention of killing the man. ' Leave off 
contention before it is meddled with. 9 



SERMON VII. 



[Preached at an Ordination in Boston, 1825.] 

THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF A CHRISTIAN 
MINISTER. 

1 Thess. ii. 4. — not as pleasing men, but god who trieth our 

HEARTS. 

More than eighteen centuries have elapsed since 
the song was sung that ushered in the morning of 
the Saviour's birth. Generation after generation 
has passed away. The proudest monuments of 
human ingenuity and human pride have crumbled 
into dust. States and empires, then great and 
flourishing, have fallen, and are no more. The 
achievements of conquerors are forgotten, or are 
remembered only as the triumphs of ambition, and 
as marked by desolation and blood. The institutions 
of legislators, in this long tract of time, have ceased 
their sway, and they who appointed them, and 
they for whom they were appointed, have alike be- 
come the subjects of the silent empire of death. 

The peaceful kingdom of the Redeemer has yet 



THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY, ETC. 113 

a place on the earth ; the trophies of his victories 
remain ; the laws he had enacted continue to exert 
their influence, and are extending their dominion ; 
the means he adopted for enlightening and reform- 
ing mankind are still in operation, and are unosten- 
tatiously, yet steadily and surely, promoting their 
end. That gospel which was 6 a stumbling block to 
the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks,' — which 
was so opposed to the prepossessions and prejudices 
and passions of men ; announced by fishermen ; as- 
sailed on all sides ; surrounded by enemies ; without 
any succor from the world; has triumphed and 
continues to triumph and prevail. The humble 
shrub, so feeble when it first appeared above the 
earth, is spreading wide its branches and overshad- 
owing the world. The holy name of Jesus is 
heard in every clime. Nations the most distant 
from each other, and the most opposed to each 
other in their manners and customs, bow alike to 
his sceptre, and unite in erecting the standard of 
his cross. 

The country which gave us birth, this city of our 
solemnities, the place in which we are assembled, 
and the occasion which has brought us together, 
bear testimony to the existence, the influence and 
the benefits of Christianity. It was the Christian reli- 
gion which first planted our native land ; it was this 
religion which gave origin to those institutions that 
are alike the ornament and the blessing of this 
metropolis ; it was this religion which reared the 
altar at which we now minister, and gave rise to 
10* 



114 THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY 

the important and interesting transactions of this 
day. 

And now that we are convened to add another to 
the ministers of this religion, I know not that I can 
find a better instructer for this our young brother, 
upon his entrance on this work, than the great 
apostle of the Gentiles, — himself so conscientious 
and faithful, — or select a better lesson for his instruc- 
tion than the example of that apostle and his fellow- 
laborers, as presented to us in the text. ' We so 
speaks not as pleasing men, but God who trieth our 
hearts' 

It is a lesson of instruction important to every 
minister in every place. It is a lesson of instruc- 
tion, — may I not say, — more especially important 
in a refined and populous city, where a minister has 
peculiar temptations to ' preach himself,' and not his 
Master, and to seek i the praise of men more than 
the praise of God.' How shall he offend the pride 
of human learning, or the fastidiousness of a pol- 
ished taste, by preaching, in their simplicity and 
plainness, the doctrines of that religion of which it 
is emphatically said, it is ' preached to the poor ' ? 
How shall he ' mention hell to ears polite,' or ad- 
dress the gay and thoughtless and worldly-minded 
and sensual, in the appalling, self-denying, heart- 
searching, heart-rending truths of the gospel ? Or, 
on the other hand, if he perceive that empty sound 
and noisy declamation too often attract and move 
and excite the multitude, how shall he resist the 
temptation to forego the aids of human learning, to 



OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER. 115 

pass by the understandings, and aim only to rouse 
the passions and inflame the hearts of his hearers ? 

Be the situation or the temptations of a minister 
what they may ; in the retirement of the country, or 
amid the populousness of the crowded city ; one 
great principle should rule in his mind, and pervade 
his whole life, — a regard to the approbation of God. 

4 Not as pleasing men, but God who trieth 

HEARTS.' 

In the first place, a minister must be a good man. 
His heart must be imbued with piety. Of all men, 
ministers are under the strongest obligations and 
have the most powerful incentives to holiness. 
Their profession is eminently a holy one. Their 
education, especially the study of the Bible, is a 
constant lesson of holiness. By their office they 
are called to explain the doctrines of a holy religion, 
to inculcate and enforce its pure and holy precepts, 
to bring home its admonitions and sanctions to the 
minds and hearts of men. They are required to 
impart instruction, and to minister consolation, in 
cases of spiritual ignorance and distress. They go 
to the house of sickness, and behold the agonies of 
an awakened conscience on the brink of eternity ; 
or the religious composure, and modest confidence, 
and heartfelt joy, of an approving mind, and a hum- 
ble hope in the Divine mercy. 

And, if all this do not impress their own hearts ; 
if it do not render them more pure, humble, meek, 
resigned ; more elevated above the world, more 
disengaged from its entanglements, and alienated 



116 THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY 

from its vain and trifling pursuits ; if it do not make 
them more intent on the objects of eternity, and 
inspire them with a deeper, more heartfelt, • more 
influential sense of their reality and importance, I 
need not say that they do not please God, I may 
sa y 5 — and all who hear me will sustain me in 
saying, — they must be the objects of His highest 
displeasure. 

Nor are Christian graces the only qualifications 
which will render a minister acceptable to God. If 
his heart must be impressed with piety, his mind 
must be informed with knowledge. It is not every 
good man who will be a good minister. It is not 
every one who feels the truths of religion that is 
qualified to teach them. Much preparation of mind 
is requisite for the discharge of the duties of the 
sacred office. Much knowledge must be acquired, 
both human and divine. 

A minister must give himself to reading, medita- 
tion and prayer. He must study the Bible, the 
great store house of Christian knowledge, the true 
standard of Christian orthodoxy, and the only rule 
of Christian duty ; and he must bring to the study 
of it, — if it be possible, — a candid, unprejudiced, 
unbiassed mind ; and, as far as practicable, all the 
learning which will tend to elucidate its history, to 
strengthen its evidence, and to explain its doctrines. 

He must study his own heart, and make himself 
acquainted with human nature by an attentive 
observation of it as it is exhibited in the characters 
and conduct of his fellow-men. He must study man. 



OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER. 117 

A minister who is ignorant of his Bible, and of 
theology, is but ill qualified to oppose the cavils of 
the sceptic, to resist the weapons of the controver- 
sialist, or to resolve the doubts and difficulties of 
the anxious inquirer after truth. A minister who is 
ignorant of human nature is liable to constant 
imposition, and is but ill prepared to adapt his in- 
structions to the dispositions and circumstances and 
wants of his people. A little practical good sense 
and practical information are of more value to him, 
and will render him more useful, than much specu- 
lative knowledge. 

But, thirdly, to knowledge and piety, a minister 
must add fidelity, diligence, and zeal, in the per- 
formance of his ministerial duties. The truths he 
has learned, he must faithfully, diligently, and ear- 
nestly inculcate. The power of religion he has felt, 
he must steadily, and unremittingly, exert himself 
to diffuse. He must give himself 'wholly to the 
work,' and esteem no labor too great, no privation 
too painful, no sacrifice of personal comfort too 
dear, by which he can advance the cause of his 
Master, and the salvation of the immortal souls 
entrusted to his care. 

He must be easy of access to his people, and free 
to communicate. In all their joys, he must rejoice, 
and ' in all their afflictions he must be afflicted. 5 In 
the day of calamity, it is for him to bear up their 
sinking spirits, and lead them ' to the Rock, that is 
higher than they.' In the hour of death, when the 
shadows of the last night are descending, the cold 



118 THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY 

damps are gathering on the brow, and ' the feet are 
stumbling on the dark mountains,' it is for him to 
do what he may to prepare the departing spirit for 
its flight, to smooth the passage to the grave, and 
to open on the eye of faith a brighter world be- 
yond it. 

He must be ' instant in season and out of season,' 
and allow no studies however useful, no engage- 
ments however pleasant, to restrain him from the 
offices of kindness and compassion. 

A soul is sinking under the weight of mental 
depression, and seeks for comfort from the Chris- 
tian minister. Fly, minister of the gospel ! Mes- 
senger of peace and good tidings ! Break off from 
the engaging studies which engross thee! Tear 
thyself away from the enchanting circle where the 
sallies of wit are charming thee, or the lessons of 
wisdom instructing thee, and hasten to the scene of 
misery! Haply, thou mayest be the instrument 
of raising the soul from despondency, and soothing 
the troubled spirit to rest. Alas! thou art too 
late ; thou hast lingered too long ; thou hast been 
too tardy in obeying the call of mercy; despair 
has done its work. The mind is gone, — totally, 
hopelessly gone ; — or life is extinct, the victim of 
its own terrors, and thou mayest now bind up as 
thou art able, the broken hearts of the mourners. 

A soul is on the verge of eternity. It is ignorant, 
and needs instruction ; — it is guilty, and needs to 
be exhorted to repentance ; — it is timid, and needs 
to be encouraged and cheered. — Fly, minister of 



OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER. 119 

the gospel! — Leave the inferior objects which en- 
gage thee, and hasten to impart instruction, to speak 
the word of admonition, to minister consolation. 
Alas! thou art too late; — the mind has lost its 
power to be benefited by thy counsels, or thy pray- 
ers ; or the day of probation is closed, and thou 
hast lost forever the opportunity of ministering, in 
the hour of departure into eternity, to the spiritual 
comfort of an immortal soul. 

But we would fain believe that it is not so. The 
minister of religion has not been too late in fulfiling 
the claims of mercy, and God has made him the 
instrument of raising the troubled soul from despon- 
dency, of pouring the light of Divine truth upon the 
darkened mind, and of guiding the departing spirit 
to heaven. 

4 We so speak, not as pleasing men, but God 
who trieth our hearts.' 

Faithless minister ! — Thou who betrayest the 
cause of thy Master, who teachest ' for doctrines the 
commandments of men ; ' or flatterest their passions 
and vices, and speakest 'peace when there is no 
peace ; ' who art idle and indolent ; or who wearest 
the semblance of piety when there is no sense of 
God upon thy mind, no love of God in thy heart ! 
— Faithless minister! — Does thy own conscience 
condemn thee, and canst thou hope to be approved 
of thy God ? — Wrap thyself up as thou wilt in 
the foldings of thy heart, there is an Eye that can 
penetrate all its foldings. It is the Eye of Him 'to 
whom all hearts are open,' and who can bring to the 



120 THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY 

view of an assembled universe the ' hidden things of 
dishonesty.' 

My brother ! — The profession on which you are 
entering is incalculably the most arduous, as it is 
the most responsible, of all professions. But be not 
dismayed. If its duties are arduous, its enourage- 
ments are great. In the consciousness of fidelity 
there is unspeakable comfort, and in the approba- 
tion of God, an abundant reward. That comfort, 
I doubt not, will be your portion, and that reward 
be yours. 

I bid you welcome to the service of our common 
Lord, and to this city and neighborhood, where it 
has been my privilege so long to labor. My relative 
situation to yours permits me to say, I proffer you 
my friendship, and all the aid which sympathy, and 
the experience of many years, can afford. 

While we are permitted to travel in company on 
the journey of life, and to labor so near to each 
other in the work of this ministry, may we strength- 
en each other's hands, and encourage each other's 
hearts, having no rivalry but that of being and 
doing good, and when we rest from our labors, 
however we may have been regarded by our fellow 
men, may we have this testimony, that we have 
pleased God. 

The members of this Christian Society will 
allow me to say, that I have watched with deep so- 
licitude the exertions which have terminated in the 



OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER. 121 

events of this day. It is with more than common 
interest, my friends, arising especially from the near 
relation I have borne to some of you, that I now de- 
voutly wish you ' a blessing from the Lord.' May the 
transactions of this day be ever remembered by you 
with increasing satisfaction ! May they result in rich 
and lasting blessings to you and your children ; and 
may future generations, refreshed by the benefits 
which shall have flowed from this house, ' rise up 
and call you blessed.' 



11 



EXTEACT FROM A MEMOIR 

OF THE 

TWELFTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

iTaken from a printed statement made in 1824.] 



The following is a brief statement of the circumstances in which 
this society originated, and of some of the leading facts connected 
with its early history. 

In the year 1823, several gentlemen, from various Congregational 
societies, conferred together on the subject of the increasing popula- 
tion of the western section of the city, and the apparent want of a 
new church for the accommodation of the inhabitants. It was ascer- 
tained that Dr. Lowell's church, for a number of years, had been 
much crowded, and that many in this neighborhood were unable to 
obtain suitable accommodations within a convenient distance. 

Under these circumstances, a plan was soon originated for the 
erection of a new church. 

The corner-stone of the new church was laid on the 10th of May, 
1824. A short address was first made on this occasion by George 
Bond, Esq., Chairman of the Building Committee. This was fol- 
lowed by an address and prayers by Br. Lowell. 

The church was completed early in the autumn of 1824, and on 
the 13th of October was solemnly dedicated to the service of God. 
The officiating clergymen were Br. Lowell, Mr. Parkman, Mr. Pal- 
frey, and Mr. Ware, of Boston. 

On the 28th of January, 1825, a church, composed of members of 






EXTRACT FROM A MEMOIR, ETC. 123 

the new society, was gathered by Dr. Lowell, according to the usage 
of the Congregational churches ; and, on the ninth of February, 
Mr. Samuel Barrett was ordained as the first minister of the new 
church. 

The following was the order of services : — 

Introductory Prayer, by Mr. Walker of Charlestown. 

Sermon, by Dr. Lowell of Boston. 

Ordaining Prayer, by Mr. Bedee of Wilton, N. H. 

Charge, by Dr. Ware of Harvard University. 

Right Hand of Fellowship, by Mr. Greene of Lynn. 

Address to the Church and Society, by Mr. Palfrey of Boston. 

Concluding Prayer, by Mr. Parkman of Boston. 



SERMON VIII. 



THE NAME OF CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE 
NAME FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 

[Preached at the Dedication of a Church in Cambridge, 1827.] 

ActS Xi. 16. — THE DISCIPLES WERE CALLED CHRISTIANS FIRST AT 

ANTIOCH. 

We have, in this verse, the only account that is 
given us of the origin of the name we bear as be- 
lievers in the divine mission of Jesus Christ. Pre- 
vious to this, the disciples of Christ were called by 
the Jews ' Nazarenes, or Galileans? and by each 
other, ' believers, disciples, brethren, or saints.' They 
now assumed the name of their founder, or master, 
as the Platonists, Pythagoreans, and others, did of 
theirs. 

Having given this account of the origin of this 
appellation, it may be supposed that I might well 
stop,- — for what doctrine can be learned, or what 
practical instruction derived, from the simple fact 
that 'the disciples were called Christians first at 



CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME, ETC. 125 

Antioch ? ' — This simple fact is, in my view, fraught 
with instruction of no little moment. 

I take up a ' Dictionary of Religions,' and find I 
know not how many hundred names of sects into 
which the Christian world is divided. And when I 
behold these ensigns of party distinction, these 
badges of submission, as they too often are, to 
human authority, my perplexed and agitated mind 
goes back to repose itself at Antioch, where the 
' believers,' the ' brethren,' they who ' were of one 
heart and one mind,' were content with the simple 
appellation which denoted their allegiance to their 
Divine Master. 

I propose, in the following discourse, to present a 
few, among many, reasons for an adherence to the 
example of the first disciples in the use of the name 
Christian, and that name only, as the designation 
of our religious faith. 

I. In the first place, because it is the only appro- 
priate name, as it is the only name which denotes 
at once the source from which our religion is de- 
rived. 

II. In the second place, because it is the name 
which was adopted by the believers, as we have 
seen, in the first, and, perhaps I need not hesitate 
to say, in the purest, age of the church. They 
who were best acquainted with the mind and will 
of Christ, when they assumed a name as distinc- 
tive of their sect, assumed this name, and this 
alone. 

III. In the third place, because it is the only 

11* 



126 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

name which can serve as a bond of union among 
the believers in Christ. It is the only name which 
expresses our common faith. It is the only ground 
on which believers can stand and act together in 
defence of their religion, and in promoting the 
great purposes for which it was given them. All 
acknowledge Christ as their Lord and Master, but, 
though they have other £ lords ' and masters ' many,' 
there is no other to whom all unite in paying 
homage. 

IV. In the fourth place, because the assumption 
of another name, instead of promoting union, pro- 
motes disunion among the believers in Christ. 

Any other name is the name of a party in the 
bosom of the Christian community, and party im- 
plies separation, division, — must I not say, — some 
degree of alienation? Is not an exclusive spirit 
engendered, which causes the affections to move 
in a narrow circle, and shuts up the heart against 
all who are without that circle ? 

Every new name is a new barrier, — a new par- 
tition wall, — between the disciples of the same 
religion. When parties are formed, and names 
assumed, hostile bands are arrayed against each 
other, and the adherents of each, coming often in 
contact and acting together, are strengthened and 
fortified and embittered in their opposition. The 
sanguine act upon the moderate ; the over-zealous 
upon those whose zeal is better tempered; and a 
flame is kindled which, instead of diffusing a 
kindly, genial heat, spreads around it destruction 
and desolation. 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 127 

Importance is given to differences of opinion 
which are of little or no importance in themselves, 
and new differences arise which, without this oppo- 
sition and combination, would have no existence. 
The very names themselves, claimed by one party, 
and denied to them by another, — as if things were 
not enough to contend about, — are the subjects of 
contention. 

I may add, if I have not already sufficiently ex- 
pressed it, that this very separation prevents that 
interchange of thought and feeling which would 
lead to a juster estimate of each other's religious 
opinions and character, and to a nearer assimila- 
tion. Many are kept asunder who else would 
know and honor and love one another, and many, 
from the same cause, remain in error, who might 
otherwise ' be brought to the knowledge of the 
truth.' 

V. In the fifth place, because the adoption of 
any other name than Christian, as the name of a 
party, excites a spirit of proselytism, or at least 
brings it into action, and gives it force and efficacy. 

I object not to a spirit of proselytism, when its 
object is to bring the unenlightened to the know- 
ledge of Christianity, or the vicious and unholy to 
virtue and holiness. But I do object to the spirit 
of proselytism when its paramount object is to 
make converts to the dogmas of a sect. — It is this 
spirit which, in times that are gone by, has prepared 
the tortures and kindled the fires of persecution. It 
is the same spirit which, in later times, has uttered 



128 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

invectives, and propagated falsehoods, and pro- 
nounced anathemas. 

I object not to the spirit, — object not, did I say? 
— J admire the spirit which would bring every thing 
that bears the image of its God into the Christian 
fold. I admire the spirit which goes forth upon the 
wings of love and mercy to the regions of igno- 
rance and debasement and misery, wherever they 
are. I admire the spirit which would pour the light 
of Divine truth on the eyes that are spiritually blind ; 
that would warm, with the genial influences of our 
holy religion, the hearts that are chilled and frozen 
by the terrors of superstition ; that would open the 
prison doors and proclaim to the captive ' the liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made his disciples free.' I 
admire the spirit that would rear in the wilderness 
a temple for the Most High, and cause the knees 
that had bowed to idols, to bend before the one 
living and true God. 

I reverence the man, let him bear what name he 
will, and go under what auspices he may, who, 
with a sincere and heartfelt devotion to the cause, 
encounters ' perils by sea and land, perils of the 
heathen and in the wilderness; — who is in weari- 
ness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger 
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness,' 
that he may carry the bread of life to them that are 
6 perishing for lack of knowledge.' 

I do earnestly desire the spread of the gospel, 
and I would stretch forth my feeble arm to help it 
forward ; but when I do so, — I am embarrassed by 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 129 

4 Calvinistic' missions and 'Arminian ' missions, 'Or- 
thodox ' missions and 'Liberal ' missions. — I approve 
of all, and I approve of neither. — I commend the 
Christian zeal that would ' cause the parched ground 
to become a pool,' but I deprecate the sectarian zeal 
that would make its waters bitter. When! — oh, 
when ! — will the time arrive, that the heralds of the 
gospel will not only ' go out with joy,' but ' be led 
forth with peace ; ' when the taunting reproof will 
no longer be addressed to them, ' Settle among your- 
selves what your religion is, and then we will deter- 
mine whether to embrace it ; ' — when they will be 
ambitious of no other name than the name of their 
Saviour ; and, like their great predecessor, will de- 
termine to ' know nothing among the heathen save 
Jesus Christ and him crucified! ' 

VI. In the sixth place, because the adoption of 
any Other name than Christian, tends to shackle the 
mind ; to prevent the free, unbiassed exercise of its 
powers in the investigation of truth. 

When we join a party, we become in some sort 
pledged to the support and defence of the opinions 
of that party; and we are in no little danger of 
imbibing opinions which might not have been the 
result of our own free and unfettered inquiry. The 
habit of considering ourselves as belonging to a 
party, — the reading and intercourse to which it 
leads, — the very spirit of party itself, — all con- 
spire to this end. Our religious opinions, — if they 
can be called ours, — are thus apparently the effect 
of accidental circumstances, of the position in 



130 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

which we have unfortunately been placed, or have 
still more unfortunately placed ourselves, — for re- 
ceiving them. If we are able to ' give a reason for 
our faith,' it is not our own ; it is taken at second 
hand ; it is probably, with most, the result of a very 
limited, partial examination; an attention to one 
side, without remembering what the wise man has 
long ago so wisely said, that l He that is first in his 
own cause seemeth just, but his neighbor cometh 
and searcheth him.' 

VII. In the seventh place, because by the adop- 
tion of another name than Christian, — by thus 
attaching ourselves to a particular party in the 
Christian church, — if we do not imbibe, or do not 
in fact defend, all the opinions of that party, we 
yet give the sanction of our name, and, thus far, of 
our influence, to opinions which we do not approve. 

The opinions of a majority of the party, or of 
the most forward and active of the party, — nay, 
perhaps even of the most extravagant of the party, 
— will be considered, — do what we will, — by the 
community, as the opinions of the whole. At least, 
all will be regarded as viewing them without much 
disapprobation, if not with complacency. We may 
lift up our feeble voice against them, — if, indeed, 
we have firmness and independence enough to do 
so, — but it will be heard only within a narrow 
circle. It will be overpowered by the louder and 
more earnest voice of party zeal. 

Every party must, sooner or later, have its creed, 
not in one particular only, but in all particulars. 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 131 

It will be given in the religious publications of the 
party ; or at the dedication of a church ; or the ordi- 
nation of a minister ; and, however different it may- 
be, in many respects, from the faith of an individ- 
ual who bears the same name, he must submit, as 
patiently as he may, to the imputation of holding 
it, or enter, in his own person, and without disguise, 
upon the thorny, endless path of controversy. 

VIII. In the eighth and last place, because the 
assumption of another name than Christian, is 
pointedly reproved by an eminent apostle of Christ. 
1 For it hath been declared unto me,' he said to the 
Corinthians, ' that there are contentions among you. 
Every one of you saith, one I am of Paul, and I of 
Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ 
divided ? Was Paul crucified for you, or were ye 
baptized into the name of Paul? Who is Paul 
and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye 
have believed ? Let no man glory in men, whether 
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas. Ye are Christ's, and 
Christ is God's.' 

And who, I may ask, are those whose names 
have been adopted, in later times, as the badge of 
party, but teachers by whom their followers have 
believed ? Some of them have written works more 
voluminous, and certainly more involved and ob- 
scure, than the Bible, to show what the Bible hath 
taught. How much better is it, to ' go at once to 
Christ and learn of him.' 

To all this it may be answered, first, that names 
are necessary to distinguish the opinions of one in- 
dividual from those of another. 



132 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

It will appear, I think, from what has been said, 
that this end is by no means answered ; that, on the 
contrary, they rather serve to confound and mislead. 
Even where there is an explicit assent to a certain 
formula, there is not always an agreement in all the 
particulars which compose it. It is this which has 
given rise to the practice of subscribing ' for sub- 
stance,' or, as our fathers did, for ' substance and 
scope,' or ' substance, scope, and end.' It was best 
known to themselves what they meant by this. It 
serves only to show into what a dilemma good men 
are brought by taking a party name. 

But I want no such distinction among Christians 
as this is designed to give. If an individual chooses 
to promulgate his views, he may do so. If he does 
not choose it, it is well. ' To his own master he 
standeth or falleth.' He is amenable for his relig- 
ious faith, not to his Christian brother, but to God. 
It is enough for me to know that he receives the 
Scriptures as of Divine authority, and endeavors to 
obey them. 

I do not pretend to indifference respecting the 
doctrines of the gospel. There are doctrines which 
I value above all price, and they are doctrines, too, 
about which there is dissent and controversy among 
Christians. They are doctrines which I feel myself 
bound to teach and enforce. — My Christian brother 
differs from me on some of these points, and widely 
differs, but if his faith, though not so scriptural, has 
exerted a holier influence on him, than my faith has 
exerted on me, he is better acquainted with his 
Bible, and nearer heaven than I am. 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 133 

It may be answered, further^ that names must be 
used to designate parties, and that parties are neces- 
sary to a combined and effective effort in the dissem- 
ination of truth. 

But the very existence of parties denotes a differ- 
ence of opinion, and in this difference both parties 
cannot be right, — it is not improbable that both 
may be wrong, — and if combination is effective in 
the dissemination of truth, it may be equally effec- 
tive in the dissemination of error. It may be 
remembered, too, by those who may agree with the 
party with which they are connected, in a few 
points, but disagree in many more, that they give 
their aid in the propagation of more of what they 
believe to be error, than what they believe to be 
truth. 

Besides, after all, the truth that is propagated is 
not of half the value of the good spirit that is lost 
in the contest. It would require a great amount of 
good to counterbalance the evils of misconception, 
misrepresentation, change of affection, contention, 
of which party is the fruitful source. How has it 
disturbed the peace of neighborhoods, and broken 
the ties of friendship ! — How has it poisoned the 
cup of domestic happiness ! thus, — in sad fulfil- 
ment of the Saviour's warning, — setting ' father 
against son and son against father, so that a man's 
foes are those of his own household.' 

I know that great practical importance is attached 
to the reception of certain doctrines which are the 
subjects of controversy. — I have had intimate offi- 

VOL. I. 12 



134 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

cial intercourse, during a ministry of twenty-two 
years, — with opportunities for this intercourse infe- 
rior, perhaps, to none, — with persons of various 
religious opinions. I have seen them in prosperity 
and adversity, in health and sickness. I have stood 
by the bed of death, and caught the last breathings 
of the departing spirit ; — and I do now say, that I 
have witnessed the same gratitude and love, the 
same trust and devotion, the same patience and 
resignation, the same holy confidence and joy, 
among them all. 

It hath not pleased the merciful Creator, I do 
firmly believe, to suspend the happiness, temporal 
or eternal, of his creatures, on the mode of faith; 
but, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, on the 
testimony of an approving conscience, enlightened 
by the word and the Spirit of God. 

That certain doctrines are better adapted to pro- 
mote piety, and consequently peace of mind, than 
others, I have no doubt ; and that it is the duty of 
' every man to be fully persuaded in his own mind ' 
that he has the truth, from a serious, deliberate, 
devout inquiry, is to me equally clear ; but it is not 
for any one to say that the peace which may be the 
result of such inquiry, is not, to him who enjoys it, 
an earnest of heaven. 

It may be still further answered, that parties do 
exist, and will exist, in the Christian world, do we 
what we may ; — that it is too late now, when so 
many lines of separation are drawn, and so many 
names adopted, to think of uniting believers in 
Christ by the single name of Christian. 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 135 

It is never too late to remonstrate against evil 
opinions, or evil practices, however venerable by age, 
or however sanctioned by numbers ; and, if parties 
do exist and will exist in the Christian world, we 
need not join them. ' Offences will come, but wo 
unto him by whom the offence cometh.' Conten- 
tions will arise, but we need not contend ; for we 
are admonished that ' the servant of God must not 
strive, but be gentle to all men.' 

Nor need any fear that, by discarding party, and 
party names, they must stand alone, — though it 
would be an honorable distinction, and they might 
be content to enjoy it. But they will have many 
of the intelligent, judicious, and excellent, on their 
side. Yet more, — they will have 'the glorious 
company of the apostles and martyrs,' and 'the 
spirits of the just made perfect,' — ' a great cloud of 
witnesses,' — on their side, for there are no parties 
in heaven. Calvin may be there, and Arminius 
may be there, and a host of others, who have un- 
fortunately given their poor names to a party on 
earth, but there will be no one's disciples there, as 
such, but the disciples of Jesus Christ. 

It may be answered yet again, that Christianity 
itself was a sect when it was first promulgated. 

Christianity was then, as it now is, a distinct re- 
ligion, opposed indeed to heathenism, and, in some 
respects, to Judaism ; but in a very different sense 
from that in which one party of believers in this 
religion is opposed to another. This, I think, must 
be so obvious, on the least reflection, that I need 



136 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

not enlarge upon it. The objection has no bearing 
upon my reasoning on this subject, and therefore 
does not impair its force. 

Once more, it may be said, in reply, that we of 
this communion are known as Congregational, in 
contradistinction to Episcopalian, and other denom- 
inations of Christians. 

It is true ; — but this is a name which has respect 
only to forms, — to the outworks of the house of 
God, — and not to religious belief. We believe 
that the simple structure of the Congregational 
church is more in conformity with that of the prim- 
itive church than any other. But if any still urge 
this as an objection, I am not at issue with them. 
Retaining the substance, I care not for the name. 
It is the fundamental principle of Congregationalism, 
that each church is competent to the management 
of its own affairs ; that it may adopt its own faith 
and government and worship ; and is amenable to 
no other than the great Head of the church. It ill 
becomes Congregationalists, then, to contend for 
party. I might add, it but ill becomes those who 
are opposed to human creeds, to urge upon their 
Christian brethren the adoption, as denoting their 
creed, of a human name. 

In the remarks I have made, it has not been my 
intention to express an opinion respecting the good 
or ill effects of controversy. Differences of opinion 
are unavoidable, and the calm, dispassionate discus- 
sion of such differences, on individual responsibility, 
may be useful. It may excite inquiry, and awaken 
zeal, and elicit truth. 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 137 

Still less has it been my intention to pass any- 
other censure, than is implied by the expression of 
a difference of opinion, on those of my Christian 
brethren who have seen fit to enlist themselves 
under the banners of a party. The right of judging 
and deciding, which I claim for myself, — and will 
maintain, — I concede to them, and respect the 
honest and fearless exercise of it. I belong not to 
their party, whatever it is ; but I honor their devo- 
tion to what they believe to be the cause of truth 
and righteousness, and if this cause should really 
be promoted amidst the strife of parties, — yes, — 
if God should cause even the ' wrath of man to 
praise him,' — ' I do rejoice, yea, and ivill rejoice? 

I have thus given a few reasons, my hearers, and 
I might give many more, for believing that we ought 
to be satisfied with the name which the disciples 
adopted at Antioch, — the name of our Divine Mas- 
ter. Let us not be ambitious of exchanging this 
sacred name for any other. Let us not be ambi- 
tious of adding another to a name which in itself 
is enough to denote our religious faith, and which 
is hallowed by its association with 4 the author of 
our faith,' and its adoption in the first age of the 
church. Let us endeavor, by the grace of God, to 
do honor to a name which confers so much honor 
on us. "Whilst we study the sacred Scriptures, and 
derive light from every quarter from which we can 
derive it, let us not suffer ourselves to be bound in 
the shackles of party, nor be subject, in matters of 
faith, to human authority, — ( No, — not for an hour ! ' 

12* 



138 CHRISTIAN THE ONLY APPROPRIATE NAME 

It has seemed to me to be not unsuitable, breth- 
ren, at the consecration of a Christian church, to set 
forth an humble plea for the Christian name ; nor 
^inappropriate to the day which you have happily 
chosen for this consecration. It is the day which 
is devoted by a large portion of the Christian world 
to the commemoration of the nativity of the Prince 
of Peace. < Peace on earth and good will towards 
men' was the proclamation of the angels at the 
Saviour's birth! To plead for the union of Chris- 
tians under the name of this Saviour, is to sound a 
note in unison with the angelic song. I would that 
it were met by a full response from every heart in 
this assembly! — I would that the peaceful strain 
were uttered by every tongue that is hymning, on 
this day, the Redeemer's praise ! — I would that it 
were mingled with every prayer that ascends from 
every Christian altar ! — that it were breathed from 
every soul that bows itself ' at the name of Jesus, 
and confesses him to be Lord ! ' 

In the spirit of peace the work, which we have 
come hither to consecrate by our prayers, was begun, 
carried on, and is ended. Those who differ, if I 
mistake not, in some respects, in their faith, have 
united in erecting this temple for the worship of the 
God of their fathers, in the mode in which their 
fathers worshipped. The blessing of God, — the 
God of peace, — has attended them. No obstacle 
has intervened to obstruct their progress ; no root of 
bitterness has sprung up to trouble them; no un- 
toward event has occurred to damp their present 



FOR BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 139 

joy, or cloud their future prospects. May the good 
they have already experienced be the harbinger of 
good to come ! May they never come up to this 
house but in the spirit of mutual kindness and love; 
and may no voice be ever heard within these walls 
but the voice of Christian charity! 

4 Peace be upon this i*ouse, like the dew on 
HERxMON, like the dew which descended on the 

MOUNTAINS OF ZlON, WHERE THE LORD COMMAND- 
ED THE BLESSING, EVEN LIFE FOREVERMORE.' 



APPENDIX. 



[Furnished by a Member of the Society.] 

The Third Congregational Society in Cambridge was incorporated 
June 16, 1827, and the corner stone of the meeting-house, erected 
by the society, was laid the second day of August, 1827. Prayers 
were oifered on the occasion by Thomas B. Gannett, Pastor of the 
Second Congregational Society in Cambridge. The first sermon, 
preached before the society, was by Charles Lowell, D. D., July 22, 
1827, from John xiii. 35 : l By this shall all men know that ye are 
my disciples, if ye have love one to another/ He also officiated at 
the formation of the church. The meeting-house was dedicated on 
Christmas Day, December 25, 1827, with the following religious 



Introductory Prayer, by Mr. Henry Ware, Jr. 
Reading of the Scriptures, by Mr. Barrett of Boston. 
Dedicatory Prayer, by Mr. Parkman of Boston. 
Dedicatory Hymn, written by Henry Ware, Jr. 
Sermon, by Charles Lowell, D. D. 
Original Hymn, written by William Parmenter, Esq. 
Concluding Prayer, by Mr. Walker of Charles town. 
Benediction. 



NOTE. 141 



NOTE BY THE AUTHOR 



TO ONE OF THE EDITIONS OF THIS SERMON, BEFORE PRINTED. 



It has been remarked in one of the notices of the first edition of 
this sermon, that the scheme of uniting the believers in Christ 
under one name was good, but impracticable ; that divisions were 
foretold and will always exist, and that there must be names for 
these divisions. I have not been accustomed to consider anything 
impracticable that it is well should be done ; and because divisions 
were foretold and exist, are we not to attempt to heal them ? What 
was once thought more visionary than the project of Clarkson and 
Wilberforce, to abolish the slave trade in England ? And yet, not 
only the English have discontinued it, but most other nations, and 
the time appears to be hastening on in which this foul blot shall not 
be found on the escutcheon of any people. 

If, however, the sermon should lead one individual to discard the 
badge of party, and to assume the name of Christian, with the com- 
prehensive views and feelings which it implies, I shall not have 
labored in vain . 

The favorable reception of this sermon by those of very different 
views has been highly gratifying to me, as it indicates a feeling in 
the community of the importance of the sentiments it contains, and 
the necessity of diffusing them. 



SERMON IX. 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 



[Preached May 182^, at the Ordination of a Minister in Dennis. Fourth edition, 
from the second Cincinnati edition.] 



Luke x. 22. — no man knowetii who the son is, but the 

FATHER. 

The present is a period not only of religious ex- 
citement, but of religious contention ; and I cannot 
but suppose, my hearers, that even here, in your 
comparative seclusion, you have heard the din of 
arms, if, indeed, you have not unhappily been en- 
gaged in the warfare. You may imagine that I 
have come hither as a theological disputant, to 
sound the changes which have been ringing in the 
ears of the community, till they are stunned, if not 
convinced, by the clamor. But I have no such 
intention. I would rather do what T may, little 
though it can be, to hush the noise of party spirit, 
and allay its bitterness. I come hither, as I trust, 
in the spirit of our religion, to preach peace ; and I 
have selected the topic of my discourse, as pecu- 
liarly fitted to promote this end, in regard to one of 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 143 

the principal subjects of contention at the present 
day. 

4 No man knoiveth who the So?i is, but the Father ; ' 
or, as it should have been rendered, l No one 
knoweth who the Son is, but the Father.' These 
words are the words of Jesus Christ. They contain 
an important declaration respecting himself; — a 
declaration that has neither been contradicted, nor 
qualified, by himself or his disciples. It is a decla- 
ration which, if it has been noticed by controver- 
sialists respecting the nature of Christ, has by no 
means had a prominent place in their writings. It 
would seem, indeed, to have been overlooked by 
them ; as it strikes at the root of all controversy on 
this subject, by showing its utter futility. 

I remark, then, in the first place, that all attempts 
to investigate the nature of Jesus Christ, the pre- 
cise connection between him and his Father, must 
be unavailing. They cannot possibly lead to any 
satisfactory results. There may be much ingenious 
speculation. There may be many very good argu- 
ments in favor of one hypothesis or another ; but, 
after all, it is hypothesis still. There can be noth- 
ing like demonstration, there can be nothing ap- 
proaching to certainty. All dogmatizing on this 
subject, all positive assertion, is entirely misplaced.* 
It amounts to nothing, let it come from whom it 
may. The wise and the ignorant, the learned and 



* It is always misplaced. Christians, especially Christian minis- 
ters, should never be dogmatical. 



144 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

the unlearned, here stand on equal ground. There 
may be different degrees of knowledge respecting 
what is revealed. There can be no difference in 
the knowledge, or rather ignorance, of what is 
unrevealed. 

Of this nature is the subject we are considering. 
1 No one knoweth who the Son is, but the Father.' 
With the infinite and incomprehensible God the 
knowledge remains. He has not imparted it to 
man. He has not imparted it to the superior intel- 
ligences who surround His throne, stand in His 
presence, and behold His glory. Even the wonders 
of redeeming love, — of ' that salvation which had 
been revealed to the prophets, and preached by the 
apostles with the Holy Ghost sent down from 
heaven,' — they were not permitted, beforehand, to 
know. They are represented, indeed, by a beautiful 
allusion to the cherubim, who overshadowed the 
ark of the covenant, and who are bending as if to 
pry into its sacred contents, as earnestly i desiring to 
look into this salvation,' but in vain. Still less are 
they permitted to comprehend the nature of that 
mysterious and inconceivably exalted Being who 
came to effect it ; who, though in c the image of God,' 
humbled himself that, by his obedience and death, 
he might make a propitiation for the sins of man- 
kind, and reconcile guilty creatures to their merciful 
Creator. 

It is then a mystery. The scanty line of human 
reason cannot fathom it. It is one of those ' secret 
things which belong only to God.' 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 145 

I remark, in the second place, that all attempts 
to investigate the nature of Jesus Christ, to ascer- 
tain the precise connection between him and his 
Father, are not only futile, but improper. 

If it is one of those secret things, which belong 
only to God, — and we are told that no man knoweth 
it but God, — it is then a subject with which we have 
no concern. If it had been fit that we should know 
it, it would have been revealed to us. It was not 
fit that we should know it, and the knowledge has 
been withheld from us. As it is only known to 
God, we can never know it, till He makes it known. 
To attempt to know it is useless, and therefore 
improper, as it is wasting our time and our efforts 
on what we can never hope to effect. To attempt 
to know it is presumptuous, and therefore im- 
proper. It is seeking 'to be wise above what is 
written.' 

There are many things of which we are ignorant, 
but which, still, are fit subjects of investigation. 
They may be revealed notwithstanding our igno- 
rance, and nothing may be wanting to give us the 
knowledge but the use of the proper means. What- 
ever truths can be discovered by the light of nature, 
or the light of revelation, it may be lawful for us to 
know. Whatever truths cannot thus be discovered, 
it is not lawful for us to seek to know. 

Here, then, is the limit beyond which we may 

not attempt to pass ; and this limit, as it respects 

His own nature, our Saviour has drawn. ' All 

things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no 

vot. i. 13 



146 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

% 

one knoweth who the Son is, but the Father ; and 
who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom 
the Son will reveal him." * 

He came not to reveal himself, but the Father, — 
to give us just ideas of His being and attributes, of 
the relation He bears to us, and of His will respect- 
ing us. 

Of himself, he has told us that he is * the Son of 
God,' that he came forth from the Father ; that the 
Father dwelt in him. Who the Son of God is, that 
is, what this phrase imports, ' no one knoweth but the 
Father.'' It is doubtless used to denote an intimate 
union, but what that union is, I affirm, and affirm 
'fearlessly, but reverently, no finite being knows, nor 
perhaps could know. 

I remark, in the third place, as a consequence of 
what has been said, that they have no cause for 
anxiety on this subject, who, after all their inquiry, 
are unable to arrive at definite notions respecting 
Christ ; his peculiar relation to Him whom he styles 
the Father ; by whom, he says, all things were deliv- 
ered to him ; whose purposes he was sent to fulfil, 
and whose will he came to do. They may be con- 
tent to be ignorant of what they cannot know. If 
I could tell them, I would gladly do it. Others, 
with great ingenuity, and with perfect sincerity, 
may attempt it, but they know no more than we 
do. 



* I quote the text as it is in our version, and as Campbell has it ; 
and as I believe it ought to be. 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 147 

I am told that Jesus Christ is i the Son of God.' 
I know that Jesus implies saviour, and that Christ 
signifies anointed. Of the phrase ' Son of God,' I 
find no explanation in the Scriptures, and I give 
none. The Jews used it to designate the ex- 
pected Messiah, who was to restore to them the 
possession of their ancient privileges. The first 
Christians used it to designate the Messiah who 
had come, and was to ' save his people from their 
sins.' 

For us, it is enough to know that this Son of 
God is the Saviour, the Anointed; consecrated to the 
work of our redemption ; the ' mediator between God 
and man,' in whom ' dwelt all the fulness of the God- 
head bodily ; ' to whom the Spirit was given ' without 
measure ; ' who was delivered for our offences, and 
was raised again for our justification ; that he ' as- 
cended up into heaven ' whence he came down ; that 
he shall come again to judge the world, and that 
4 whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but 
have everlasting life.' 

The question was long ago asked, ' Who say ye 
that I am ? ' The memorable answer of the apos- 
tle was, ' Thou art Christ, the Son of the living 
God ; ' and the benediction which it elicited is left 
upon record for the consolation of those humble 
Christians who are afraid to pry into the deep 
things of God. i Blessed art thou, Simon, son of 
Jonah, flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto 
thee, but my Father who is in heaven.' It were 
well that those who require a more full confession 



148 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

should ponder on these words.* The same ques- 
tion has been asked, and has received various 
answers, from that time to the present. Even 
among those who bear the same name there is 
great diversity of opinion. It would be useless, if 
it were practicable, for me to give you an account 
of the various sentiments which have prevailed 
respecting the person of Jesus Christ. Many of 
them are long since exploded, and are to be found 
only in the history of religious opinions, if indeed 
their names have not perished, like those who con- 
ceived them. 

At the present day, the diversity of opinion is 
probably really, if not ostensibly, as great, as at any 
former period. If there is a disposition to divide 
the Christian community into two parties on this 
subject, and to designate them by the titles of Trini- 
tarian, and Unitarian, still, from this designation but 
a very imperfect notion could be formed of the pre- 
cise opinions of individual Christians. 

Among Trinitarians there are the followers of 
Athanasius f and Waterland and Burnet and South 
and Sherlock, and many others. And Unitarians 
also are divided, embracing the creed of Arius or 
Socinus, among the ancient Christians, and of Price 
or Priestley or Belsham, to mention no more, among 
the moderns. There are in these parties, also, many 



* See also John i. 33, 34, iii. 18, ix. 35, and seq. xx. 31 ; Acts viii. 
37, ix. 20 ; 1st John iv. 15, v. 5, &c., &c. 
f Or rather of the Athanasian Creed. 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 149 

who have formed their own opinions, and dissent 
from all who have gone before them. It may be 
remembered, too, that, of those who have published 
their views of the doctrine in question, there are 
not a few whom it is difficult to class, and who 
are, in fact, sometimes classed with one party and 
sometimes with another. 

Thus, (to mention a few instances) the opinion 
of Sabellius, whose followers are called Sabellians, 
was that God, though He is the Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, is but one person ; as man, though 
composed of body and soul, is but one person. 
His disciples, on their Master's principles, consid- 
ered the Word and the Holy Spirit as only virtues, 
emanations or functions of the Deity; and held 
that He who in heaven is the Father of all things, 
was born on earth as a Son, and that, having ac- 
complished the work of salvation, he diffused him- 
self over the apostles in tongues of fire, and then 
was denominated the Holy Ghost. They compared 
God to the sun, whose light was the Word, and 
whose warmth was the Holy Spirit And Sabel- 
lius and his followers, have sometimes been called 
Unitarians, and sometimes Trinitarians. His sys- 
tem has usually been denominated a modal Trinity, 
in reference to the different modes of operation in 
the same Being. 1 

A learned writer of the church of England, — and 
one of the most learned, — has published a work, 
which he styles the ' Scripture Doctrine of the Trin- 
ity,' in which he attempts to prove that < the Father 

13* 



150 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

alone is God, unoriginate and of himself; ' that from 
the beginning there existed with the Supreme Cause 
a second person called the Word, or Son, who de- 
rived his being, attributes, and powers from the 
Father ; that by him God made the world, and that 
he is an object of religious worship, — that worship, 
however, terminating in the Father. He maintains 
the personality of the Holy Spirit, — that it is a dis- 
tinct agent, proceeding from the Father. Dr. Clarke 
has styled his system ' The Scripture Doctrine of the 
Trinity.' It may be so, but it would be difficult 
to prove that it was the doctrine of the church to 
which he belonged.* 

An eminent dissenter from the church of England, 
whose name I cannot pronounce without deep feel- 
ings of reverence and love, than whom no one ever 
sought for truth with a more devout and candid 
spirit, Dr. "Watts, maintained that the Supreme 
God dwelt in the human nature of Christ, and that 
this nature existed before all other creatures. He 
speaks of Christ as the Wisdom of God, and the 
Holy Ghost as the Power of God, and styles it a 
' scriptural person,' as being figurately spoken of in 
Scripture under personal characters. Dr. Watts 
has sometimes been called a Trinitarian, and some- 
times a Unitarian. His scheme, which is termed 
the ' indwelling scheme,' bears a strong resemblance 



* He prepared a copy of the Eook of Common Prayer agreeably 
to his scheme, which had the private approbation of Archbishop 
Herring and of Bishop Law, among others. 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 151 

to Sabellianism, which system he is supposed to 
have adopted in the last years of his life. 

I have mentioned Arius and Athanasius and So- 
cinus, and as their names are of frequent occurrence 
in the controversy about the Trinity, 2 it may be well 
that I should give you some account of them. 

With Arius, this controversy may, perhaps, with- 
out impropriety, be said to have originated. Pre- 
vious to his time, indeed, there were differences of 
opinion, (as there must needs be on a subject which 
had not been revealed,) and different sects had 
sprung up, whose opinions, in some instances, have 
come down to us, as those of Noetus and Sabellius 
and Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, 3 and 
others ; but the controversy about these opinions 
was comparatively of small extent, and of short 
duration. 

' The doctrine of three persons in the Godhead,' 
says an ecclesiastical historian,* ' had, in the three 
preceding centuries, happily escaped the vain curi- 
osity of human researches, and been left undefined 
and undetermined by any particular set of ideas. 
Nothing was dictated to the faith o Christians in 
this matter, nor were any modes of expression pre- 
scribed as requisite to be used in speaking of this 
mystery. Hence the Christian doctors entertained 
different sentiments upon this subject without giv- 
ing the least offence, and discoursed variously re- 
specting the distinctions between Father, Son, and 

* Mosheim. 



152 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

Holy Ghost; each one following his respective 
opinion with the utmost liberty.' 4 

At the commencement of the fourth century, 
Arius, a presbyter of the church of Alexandria, 
acute, eloquent, and subtile, contended, in opposi- 
tion to his Bishop, 5 Alexander, in an assembly of 
presbyters, that 'the Son was essentially distinct 
from the Father; that he was a dependent, sponta- 
neous production, created by the will of the Father 
before all worlds ; that the Father had impressed 
upon him the effulgence of his glory, and filled him 
with his ample spirit ; that he was the framer of the 
world, and governed the universe, in obedience to 
his Father.' He is also said to have held that the 
Son was mutable, and, like the angels, liable to sin ; 
that being united to human flesh, he supplied the 
place of the human soul, and, consequently, was 
subject to sufferings and pain. None of the ancient 
writers, however, have given us a complete and 
coherent account of his tenets, and we must not 
hastily ascribe opinions to any one, common though 
it is at the present day, without the fullest proof. 6 

The party of Arius soon became considerable, 
and was countenanced by two of the most learned 
and pious Bishops, and by numbers distinguished 
both by rank and abilities. Alexander, who was 
himself suspected of Sabellianism, 6 summoned a 
council of a hundred Bishops, who publicly con- 
demned the opinions of Arius. They were also 
condemned by the celebrated Council of Nice, con- 
vened by the Emperor Constantine, in the year 325, 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 153 

and the presbyter himself was banished. After an 
exile of three years, he was recalled by the Emperor ; 
but before he could be fully restored to his former 
privileges, he was cut off, — by the judgment of 
God, as affirmed by his opposers; — the miserable 
victim of his implacable enemies, as asserted by his 
friends. 

Athanasius was the successor of Alexander in 
the bishopric of Alexandria. Whilst a deacon in 
that church, he had accompanied his Bishop to the 
Council of Nice, and took a conspicuous and ac- 
tive part in that Council, in opposition to the opin- 
ions of Arius, and in favor of his banishment. On 
the recall of Arius, Athanasius, who was then 
bishop, opposed his restoration to the communion 
of the church of Alexandria, and was, in his turn, 
deposed, degraded, and exiled. He was repeatedly 
banished and restored during successive reigns, till 
he at last obtained possession of his see, and en- 
joyed it in tranquillity, for many years, till his death. 
His name has been given, though without sufficient 
authority, to a formulary which, under the title of 
' the Creed of St. Athanasius,' makes a part of the 
Liturgy of the church of England. 

On the death of Constantine, the empire was 
divided among his sons, one part adopting, with 
their Emperor, the opinions of Arius, and the other 
the doctrine of the Council of Nice. 7 These differ- 
ent opinions successively prevailed in one and in 
both parts of the empire, as they were favored by 
successive emperors, till the accession of Valen- 



154 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

tinian in the West, when the decrees of the Council 
of Nice were rendered triumphant, and Arianism 
took shelter among the Burgundians, Goths, and 
Vandals. 8 

At a subsequent period, the Nicene creed was 
enlarged by a fuller explication of some of its arti- 
cles, especially in relation to the divinity and pro- 
cession of the Holy Ghost ; and, as thus enlarged, 
is still the faith of the Church of Rome, and of the 
Greek church. It was not discarded by Luther, or 
Calvin, with some other doctrines, but retained. It 
has been received by the Church of England, and 
by the Presbyterian church, though many in both 
churches, especially the former, are far from holding 
it in the sense which the terms of the creed imply.* 

The flame which was thus kindled in the fourth 
century, and which long raged with great violence, 
has, at different periods, been lighted up anew. In 
our own time, and country, new fuel has been ad- 
ded to the smouldering embers, and they are again 
burning. Many able and excellent men have been 
engaged in the controversy, on both sides ; but I 
cannot perceive that any new light has been thrown 
on this point of doubtful disputation, or that the 
minds of men have come to a result materially dif- 
ferent from that at which they arrived fifteen hun- 
dred years ago. Nor will the result be different 



* There was a period when Christians were baptized into the Ni- 
cene creed, and to that alone. See Sir Peter King's History of the 
Apostle's Creed. 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 155 

fifteen hundred years hence, if the opportunity for 
discussion should be so long afforded. The debate 
must be endless and unsatisfactory, because the 
subject is incomprehensible, and the terms which 
are used must be of human device, and of neces- 
sity ambiguous. It were well if that could be, 
which never will be, that men would follow the 
advice of a learned dignitary of the Church of En- 
gland, who was violating his own precept at the 
moment he gave it. ' Since both sides,' he says, 
c yield, that the matter they dispute about is above 
their reach, the best course they can take is, to 
assert and defend ivhat is revealed, and not to be 
peremptory and quarrelsome about that which is 
acknowledged to be above our comprehension/ * 

I have spoken of Socinus, whose name has been 
adopted, or at least received, by some Christians as 
denoting their belief, and cast upon others as a term 
of reproach. At a very early period of the Refor- 
mation, there were many among the Anabaptists 
and other sects, who rejected the doctrine of the 
Trinity, as professed at that period. Finding them- 
selves insecure in Italy and Germany, they retired 
to Poland, which, from the remoteness of its situa- 
tion, or the laxity of its government, promised them 
a more secure retreat. Here they were joined (in 
1551) by Lelius Socinus, or Sozzini, of an illus- 
trious * family in Tuscany, a man of uncommon 

* Stillingfleet's ' Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity.' By 
the remark above, I mean only to be understood to say, that he was 
discussing a subject which certainly has not been revealed. 



156 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

genius and learning, and of exalted virtue. Being 
forced to leave his country, on account of the dis- 
gust he had conceived against Popery, he travelled 
through France, England, Holland, Germany, and 
Poland, in search of the truth among those who 
had abjured the faith of Rome. He died in Switz- 
erland, in middle life, but from his letters and papers 
was framed by his nephew Faustus Socinus, with 
some additions of his own, the system of faith 
which bears the name of Socinian. Faustus had 
less learning, but as much genius as his uncle, with 
more courage and resolution ; and succeeded, by 
his dexterity and perseverance, in reconciling the 
jarring opinions of the Unitarians, as they had 
called themselves, in Poland, 9 and inducing them 
to submit to his doctrine. This doctrine, in as far 
as it relates to the nature of God and of Jesus 
Christ, has been thus stated : ' God, who is infi- 
nitely more perfect than man, though of a similar 
nature in some respects, exerted an act of that 
power by which He governs all things, in conse- 
quence of which, an extraordinary person was born 
of the Virgin Mary. That person was Jesus Christ, 
whom God first translated to heaven by that por- 
tion of divine power which is called the Holy 
Ghost, and having instructed him fully there in the 
knowledge of His will, counsels, and designs, sent 
him again to this sublunary world, to promulgate 
to mankind a new rule of life, more excellent than 
that under which they had formerly lived ; to propa- 
gate divine truth by his ministry ; and to confirm it 
by his death.' 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 157 

The modern ' Humanitarians ' disbelieve, with So- 
cinus, the pre-existence of Christ, but, unlike him, 
they maintain his simple humanity; that he was ' the 
son of Joseph and Mary, and naturally as fallible 
and peccable as Moses, or any one of the proph- 
ets.'* I am not aware that this opinion prevails 
among us. 

I have thus stated a few of the many opinions 
which have been held on this interesting subject ; 
interesting, because relating to the person of Him 
who is ' the Author and Finisher of our faith.' You 
will perceive, from what has been said, that there is 
a great diversity of opinion, and that this diversity 
is of long standing. There have been Trinitarians 
and Unitarians in fact, though not in name, from 
an early age of the church, if not from the times of 
the apostles themselves. 10 If the declaration of the 
Son of God, in my text, needed any confirmation, 
it would be abundantly corroborated by this fact. 
The various opinions which have existed in all ages, 
respecting the person of Christ, the very different, 
and sometimes contradictory, definitions which have 
been given by those who have professed the same 
belief, might have been sufficient, without the dec- 
laration of Scripture, to demonstrate that ( no man 
knoweth who the Son isJ 

We may learn from our subject a lesson of char- 
ity ; and may we not learn, too, that that cannot be 



* See the writings of Priestley and Belsham. 
14 



158 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

a subject on which our salvation is suspended, about 
which wise and good men so materially differ? 

Study your Bible, Christians, that you may un- 
derstand for yourselves what it teaches respecting 
Christ. Study it with prayer, that your minds may 
be enlightened, and your hearts sanctified by its 
truths. It is comparatively of little consequence 
what name you bear ; but it is of infinite moment 
what relation you bear to Christ, and how nearly 
you resemble him , whether you have felt the power 
of his gospel, and have been ' renewed in the spirit 
of your minds.' 

I conclude this part of my discourse in the lan- 
guage of Bishop Taylor, and I would that every 
Bishop of every church, were as catholic, as well 
as pious, as he was : ' He who goes about to speak 
of the mysteries of the Trinity, and does it by words 
of man's device, talking of essences and existences, 
hypostases and personalities, priorities in co-equali- 
ties, and unity in pluralities, may amuse himself, 
and build a tabernacle in his own head, and talk of 
something he knows not what ; but the good man 
who feels the power of the Father, and to whom 
the Son is become " wisdom, sanctification, and re- 
demption ; " in whose heart the love of the Spirit of 
God is shed abroad; — this man, though, he under- 
stands nothing of what is unintelligible, yet he 
alone truly understands the Christian doctrine of 
the Trinity.' 

I now turn to you, my brother, who have been 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 159 

called, by the voice of this people, which I trust is 
the voice of God, to the Christian ministry. I turn 
to you to express my sympathy with you in the 
conflicting emotions which this occasion excites, 
and to caution you, in accordance with the doctrine 
of my discourse, and in the language of the wise 
son of Sirach, ' not to seek out the things that are 
too hard for thee, neither to search the things that 
are above thy strength.' You are to instruct this 
people -in their duty. Learn it, that you may teach 
it. Embody it in your own example, that you may 
not impede the efficacy of your holy instructions by 
your unholy life. You are deprived, — I had almost 
said happily deprived, — of the opportunity of access 
to many books ; but you have the great book of 
nature always open before you, in which you may 
read, and teach your people to read, of thfe majesty 
and love of the Creator. Deriving their subsistence 
as many, if not most of them, do, from the treas- 
ures of the ocean, you will not fail to instruct them, 
whilst they ' behold the wonders of God in the 
deep,' and experience the care of a protecting Prov- 
idence, to learn a lesson of reverence, dependence, 
and gratitude. Above all, you have the Holy Scrip- 
tures, the store-house of Christian truth and Chris- 
tian duty. Follow them, and teach your people to 
follow them, as the only infallible guide. 

To you, I may say, it peculiarly belongs to search 
for yourself for the truths of God's word, or you 
will be guilty of a dereliction from the doctrine in 
which you were nurtured, and from the example 



160 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

which is now hallowed by the conviction that it 
exists only in the remembrance. If you should 
ever be tempted thus to forsake the instructions of 
your youth and maturity, to build your faith on 
human authority, or to allow yourself to be bound 
by the shackles of party, may the venerable image 
of him whose glory it was to be a ' Christian Con- 
gregational minister,' rise up and rebuke you. 

' Study the things that make for peace ; ' and 
whilst you ' stand fast yourself in the liberty where- 
with Christ hath made you free,' sacredly respect 
the rights of others, and allow to them the liberty 
which you strenuously claim, and fearlessly, though 
meekly, assert for yourself. Never forget that you 
are a man, ignorant and fallible ; that, in your opin- 
ions, you differ from others as much as they differ 
from you, and that it is not for you to decide, with 
confidence, that you are right, and that they are 
wrong. To their own master, and not to you, they 
stand or fall. 

You may be told that ' there must be no neu- 
trals.' Be it so; observe no neutrality with big- 
otry and vice. You may hear much, on all sides, 
of the necessity of explicitness in preaching. Keep 
back nothing that may be profitable to your hearers, 
either of doctrine or duty ; but, as you may not be 
' wise] so you may not be explicit , l above what is 
written.' You may be satisfied to follow, in this 
respect, the example of the apostles and early teach- 
ers, who did not attempt to define what was unde- 
finable, or to make known to others what had not 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. , 161 

been revealed to themselves. You may be told, 
that it argues a want of decision and firmness to 
refuse to join one party or the other; but that is 
not indecision which pursues an independent course, 
searching and judging and acting for itself. No, 
my brother, it requires much less decision to join a 
crowd, and allow others to think and to speak for 
you, and much less firmness to take shelter under a 
party banner, than to stand alone. 

It is said of the righteous, that they shall be as 
the angels, and of the angels it is said, that they 
1 are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to 
those who are the heirs of salvation.' It may be 
that the spirits of the revered and beloved departed 
are permitted to accompany us on our pilgrimage 
of duty and trial. How much may this idea en- 
courage you, my brother, in the labors and cares of 
your ministry, and how powerfully should it excite 
you to watchfulness and fidelity. But you have 
greater encouragement in the presence of your 
Master, and a more powerful incitement in the 
hope of acceptance with your God. 

Go, then, in the fear and strength of the Lord ; 
go, regardless of the frowns or the flatteries of men, 
and perform the honorable service to which you are 
called. Arm yourself with ' the sword of the Spirit, 
which is the word of God,' and, ' in simplicity and 
godly sincerity,' teach publicly, and like the apostle 
of the Gentiles, ' from house to house.' Thus 
armed, — thus teaching and living, — you are safe. 
You may be honored, or contemned, but you have 
14* 



162 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

the testimony of your conscience, and it is enough. 
Your name may be regarded and cherished, or it 
may ' be cast out as evil,' but it will be ' written in 
the Book of Life.' 

My hearers, though it is not given to us to under- 
stand the mysterious connection between the Father 
and the Son, yet all that relates to the office of 
Christ, to the great purpose for which he was sent 
into the world, is clearly revealed ; and, as it deeply 
concerns us, is a subject for serious, deliberate, mi- 
nute inquiry. ' What must I do to be saved ? ' is a 
question which may be proposed with as much pro- 
priety now, as it was propounded to the apostles 
eighteen hundred years ago ; and the same answer 
that was given then, may be given now. ' Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. 
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of 
God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.' Or, as 
it is otherwise expressed, ' Whosoever believeth that 
Jesus is the Christ, is born of God.' But of what 
nature is this faith? Let the apostle reply. i With 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness.' — < If 
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him 
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.' 

The time is coming, — it maybe near, — when 
the opportunity for acquiring this faith will exist no 
longer. ' It is appointed unto all once to die.' Nor 
is this all, — 'and after death the judgment? This 
soltary truth, in all its simplicity, should be enough 
to awaken our most earnest solicitude to make < our 



THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 163 

calling and election sure. 5 And yet, how many- 
hear it without concern, — how many say to the 
terrible monitor, ' Go thy way, for this time, when 
I have a more convenient season, I will call for 
thee.' 

Thoughtless sinner! Go on in the way of thy 
heart! Listen with indifference to the truths that 
we announce to thee. Let our discourse be to thee 
4 as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.' Brave, 
if thou wilt, the retributions of eternal justice. 
Forget in thy youth, forget in thy manhood, the 
God who made thee, the Saviour who redeemed 
thee. Go on in the way of thy heart, till thy joy- 
ous day, if it be a joyous day, of life is ended, and 
the shadows of night descend, and ' thy feet stum- 
ble on the dark mountains.' Go on — but no ! for- 
bear ! hear the voice that would call thee back from 
the precipice on which thou art standing. ' Know, 
that for all these things, God will bring thee into 
judgment.' Thou must come, when the vision of 
earthly enjoyment is fled, when there will be noth- 
ing to blind thine eyes, to drown thy senses, to sear 
thy conscience ; when every faculty will be in full 
exercise, every sense feelingly alive to its sin and 
misery, when conscience shall have resumed its 
throne, — thou must come before thy Judge. Thou 
wilt ' be weighed in the balances and found want- 
ing.' 

Yes ! we must say to ' the wicked it shall be ill 
with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given 
him.' But we may l say to the righteous it shall be 



164 THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY. 

well with him, for he shall eat of the fruit of his 
doings.' The peace of God shall dwell in his heart, 
shall add brightness to his brightest day of prosper- 
ity, and shed light upon the night of adversity; 
shall make duty easy, and trials light. Come what 
will, he is prepared for it. There is nothing terrible 
to him in life; there is nothing terrible in death. 
He is contented to live and suffer. He is contented 
to die, and be at rest. He has a hope which can- 
not fail him, for it is built on the unchangeable 
promises of the unchangeable God. He has treas- 
ures which he cannot lose, for they are laid up in 
heaven. 



NOTES. 



Note 1. Page 149. 

This is supposed by Dr. Doddridge to have been the opinion of 
Archbishop Tillotson. Mr. Baxter, whose name is associated with 
all that is most excellent in spirit and practice, appears to have held 
an opinion not very dissimilar. He illustrates the doctrine of the 
Trinity by power, intellect and will in the soul of man ; and by mo- 
tion, light and heat in the sun. The sentiments of Dr. Doddridge 
himself are said to have approached to Sabellianism. Mr. Whis- 
ton, one of the most learned men of the eighteenth century, * after 
reading the New Testament twice;' in reference to this point, ' and 
also all the ancient monuments of the Christian religion, till near 
the end of the second century,' arrived at a conclusion not materi- 
ally different from this, though more nearly approaching Arianism. 

Note 2. Page 151. 
The term ' Trinity ' is said to occur for the first time in the writ- 
ings of Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, near the close of the second 
century.* The church is certainly under no obligation to him for 
this fruit of his invention. It is a term which, as well as its oppo- 
site, has done a great deal of mischief, whilst both have been ren- 
dered so comprehensive as to have little or no significancy. It was 
peculiarly incongruous that a term which has been used as the des- 
ignation and shibboleth of party, should have its origin in a place 
where the disciples had first taken the name of their master. 

Note 3. Page 151. 
Noetus, who lived about the year 240, held that there was but one 
person in the Godhead, and that this person, the Father, united him- 

* His language is — ' of the Trinity, viz. of God and his Word and his Wisdom.' 



166 NOTES. 

self with the man Christ, and was born and crucified with him. He 
reasoned thus : c The scriptures declare one God, even the Father. 
This being manifest, and it being acknowledged that there is but one 
God, it follows that he suffered, for Christ was God, and he suffered 
for us, being the Father, that he might be able to save us.' 

It is difficult to determine at this day, what were the opinions of 
Paul of Samosata. Lardner, and the ecclesiastical historians, have 
given a variety of statements. On the whole, it is probable that he 
believed that Christ was a man, in whom God dwelt in a peculiar 
and special manner. 

Note 4. Page 152. 

There was no creed in general use in the three first centuries, un- 
less it were that which is called the 'Apostles' Creed,' which was 
composed at a very early period, or, as has been conjectured, at dif- 
ferent periods, and which, if we must have any other creed than the 
Bible, might well be substituted for every other. It is found in the 
Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal church, but may not be 
accessible to all, and I therefore insert it here. It is the oldest on 
record. 

1 1 believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth ; 
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord ; who was conceived by the 
Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
was crucified, dead and buried ; he descended into hell ; the third day 
he rose from the dead ; he ascended into heaven ; and sitteth on the 
right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come 
to judge the quick and the dead. 

1 I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the com- 
munion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, 
and the life everlasting. ' 

Note 5. Page 152. 
' It has been said that the office of Bishop and Presbyter was 
originally the same ; and that the name of Presbyter or Elder, was 
expressive of their age, or rather of their gravity, wisdom, and 
delegation. Their number was proportioned to the size of their re- 
spective congregations. When, by the addition of new converts, the 
number of churches and ministers necessarily increased, new regu- 
lations became necessary ; one, therefore, from among the Presby- 
ters, distinguished for his wisdom and piety, was chosen to preside 



NOTES. 167 

in their councils, to allot to the rest their respective offices, and to 
be a centre of union to the whole society. The Presbyter, invested 
with this dignity, was generally styled Bishop, and sometimes the 
Angel j of the church to which he belonged.' That there may be no 
cause for suspicion of partiality in the statement, I have quoted from 
Gregory, an Episcopal historian. There is an admirable work on 
the ■ Constitution, Discipline, &c. of the Primitive Church,' by Sir 
Peter King, afterwards Lord Chancellor ; the author, also, of an ex- 
cellent work on the ■ Apostles' Creed.' 

Note 6 Page 152. 

Sozomen, an ecclesiastical historian of the fifth century, as quoted 
by Lardner, gives this account of the rise of ( Arianism.' * Arius 
had for some time published the doctrine ascribed to him, Alexan- 
der taking little notice of it ; but, being blamed for tolerating such 
novelties, he appointed a time for having the point fairly debated. 
At which time Arius stood to the things he advanced ; and they who 
opposed him asserted the Son to be consubstantial and co-eternal to 
the Father. Another assembly was called, but they could not agree. 
Alexander himself was at first in suspense, but at length declared 
himself in favor of those who asserted that the Son was consubstan- 
tial and co-eternal to the Father.' 

The writings of Arius were not voluminous. Three or four only 
have come down to us. An extract from a letter of his to Eusebius, 
Bishop of Nicomedia, his friend and patron, may be interesting to 
the reader. I find it in Milner. 

1 To my most desirable lord, the faithful man of God, the orthodox 
Eusebius, Arius, persecuted by father Alexander unjustly, for the sake of 
truth, which conquers all things, of which you are the defender; joy in 
the Lord. My father Ammonius coming to Nicomedia, it appeared to me 
my duty to address you by him, and at the same time to inform your root- 
ed charity and kind disposition which you have towards the brethren for 
the sake of God and His Christ, that the Bishop harasses and persecutes 
us because we agree not with him, who publicly says, "Always God, 
always the Son ; at the same time the Father, at the same time the Son. 
God does not precede the Son even in God himself." And when Eusebius 
your brother of Cesarea, and Theodotus and Paulinus, and Athanasius,* 
and Gregory and Aetius, and all the Bishops in the East, said that God, 

* Not the Bishop of Alexandria. 



168 NOTES. 

who had no beginning, existed before the Son, they were condemn- 
ed, &c. 
' But what we say and think, we have both taught and do teach ; that 

the Son by will and counsel existed before the times and ages, 

full God, only begotten, and before he was begotten, created, or defined, 
or founded, he was not.' { The Son hath a beginning, but the Father 
hath no beginning.' 

Eusebius, above referred to, was the celebrated ecclesiastical his- 
torian, to whom all parties resort for information respecting the 
early history of the church. His opinions, it has been thought, 
were similar to those since advanced by Dr. Clarke, and of which 
some account is given in the preceding discourse. 

Alexander, the Bishop, it has been supposed, was a follower of 
Origen, rather than Sabellius, who held that the Son was in God, 
what reason is in man, and that the Holy Ghost was only the Divine 
energy, or active force. Origen was a writer of the third century, 
one of the greatest and best of men, whose abilities, learning and 
virtue commanded universal homage in his own time, and have se- 
cured for him the veneration and regard of succeeding ages. 
Note 7. Page 153. 

this was not the doctrine of the * Trinity ' as it has been since 
understood. The language of the co-equality and co-eternity of three 
persons in the Godhead, is of later date. The Council were much 
divided in opinion, and fell to contending when they began to de- 
fine. After the Council was broken up, they quarrelled about the 
term ' consubstantial,' one party asserting that it implied Sabel- 
lianism, and the other Polytheism. "As the creed is not long, I in- 
sert it here. 

' We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things, 
visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the 
only begotten ; begotten of the Father, i. e. of the Substance of the 
Father. God of God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, 
by whom all things were made, things in heaven and things in earth ; 
who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate 
and became man, suffered, and rose again the third day, and ascended 
into the heavens, and comes to judge the quick and the dead. And in 
the Holy Ghost. And the Catholic and Apostolic church doth anathe- 
matize those persons who say there was a time when the Son was not, 
that he was not before he was born ; that he was made of nothing, or of 
another substance, or being ; or that he is created, or changeable, or 
convertible.' 



NOTES. 169 

After ' Holy Ghost,' has been added in the Liturgy of the Church 
of England, from the Council of Constantinople, held 381, 'The 
Lord and Giver of Life, who proceed eth from the Father,' ' and ' 
(as added from the creed of the Western church,) c the Son, is wor- 
shipped,' &c* It has been regretted by many among the most 
eminent of the clergy, as well as laity, belonging to this venerable 
church, — a church which has numbered among its members some of 
the greatest and best names, — that it should have used language, on 
this point, objectionable to many pious persons who are willing to 
ascribe divine honors to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as to 
those pious persons who are not. 

At the Council of Constantinople, ' an hundred and fifty Bishops,' 
says Mosheim, ' gave the finishing touch to what the Council of 
Nice had left imperfect, and fixed, in a full and determinate manner, 
the doctrine of three persons in one God.' But Mosheim is mis- 
taken. The creed of this Council, which was drawn up by Gregory 
Nyssen, was so altered in the Latin version, which appeared some 
time after in the Western church as to make the Holy Ghost pro- 
ceed from the Father and the Son, instead of the Father alone, and 
thus it ' received its finishing touch.' This was confirmed by the 
second General Council of Lyons in 1274. 

Note 8. Page 154. 
Arianism was the dominant religion of Spain for more than two 
centuries. It prevailed in Italy, France, Pannonia and Africa, and 
was not suppressed till near the end of the eighth century. From 
that time the opposite doctrine retained almost undisputed sway, till 
the sixteenth century, when it was again assailed, and the contro- 
versy revived by Campanus and by Servetus. 

Note 9. Page 156. 
This name (Unitarian) was afterwards taken by the Humanitari- 
ans in England. It has been more recently adopted by a party in 
this country, in which are many sensible and excellent persons, who, 
however, intend it, I understand, to denote only their disbelief of the 
'Trinity.' It has happened, unfortunately for their intention, that 
from the statements of their own writers, and the representations of 
their opponents, the public have a different impression. 

* The anathema is omitted. 
VOL. I. 15 



170 NOTES. 

Note 10. Page 157. 

The Ebionites and Cerinthians, both of which sects asserted that 
Jesus was merely a man, probably existed in the time of the apostle 
John. The Cerinthians distinguished between Jesus and Christ, as- 
serting that Jesus was a man born like other men, though superior to 
others in wisdom and goodness ; that at his baptism, the Christ of 
the Supreme God, a Holy Spirit, (or one of the glorious iEons,) de- 
scended upon him, that by the assistance of this Christ, he performed 
his miracles, that he died and rose again, but that before his death, 
Christ had left him, and ascended into heaven. The Gnostics, (which 
name indeed was assumed by various sects) denied both the deity 
and the humanity of the Saviour. 

Among the different hypotheses of those who call themselves Trin- 
itarians, are the following : 

Dr. Waterland's theory was, that the Godhead consisted of three 
distinct persons, equal and independent, yet constituting one and the 
same God. This is the doctrine of the Church of England, if I mis- 
take not, and of the Episcopal church in the United States. Bishop 
Sherlock says, ' Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are as really distinct 
persons as Peter, James and John ; each of whom is God ; each of 
them having the whole wisdom, power and goodness of the other 
two.' 

Mr. Howe says l there are three distinct eternal spirits, or dis- 
tinct intelligent hypostases, each having a distinct intelligent nature, 
united in such an inexplicable manner, as that upon account of their 
perfect harmony, consent and affection, and likewise their mutual 
self-consciousness, they may be called one God, as the different cor- 
poreal, sensitive and intellectual natures united, may be called one 
man.' 

Bishop Pearson, Bishop Bull, and Dr. Owen's theory is, that ' the 
Father is an underived and essential Essence, the Fountain of the 
Deity, and that the Son received the whole divine nature from the 
Father, and the Spirit from both.' They say there cannot have 
been more than one person originally subsisting of himself ; ' as a 
plurality of persons so subsisting, would make a multiplicity of 
Gods.' 

Dr. Wallis, of the Church of England, was an advocate for a 
1 modal Trinity,' as Sabellius was. 

Dr. Thomas Burnet's theory is, that there is one self-existent, and 



NOTES. 171 

two dependent beings, the two latter so united to and inhabited by 
the former, that by virtue of that union, divine perfections may be 
ascribed and divine worship paid to them. 

As the opinions of Swedenborg have been adopted by a number of 
respectable and excellent people in this country, it may be well to 
state that Swedenborg, who professed to have been favored with a 
particular revelation, believed that Jesus Christ was the Supreme 
God. He rejected the doctrine of the Trinity as destructive of the 
unity of the Godhead, but admitted three distinct essences, princi- 
ples, or characters existing in it, viz. the divine essence, in virtue of 
which he is called Father or Creator j the human essence, united to 
the divine, in virtue of which he is called the Son and Redeemer ; 
and the proceeding essence, in virtue of which he is called the Holy 
Ghost. 

The most distinguished writer of our own country on the subject 
of the ' Trinity,' is Mr. (now Dr.) Noah Worcester, who has pub- 
lished a very ingenious work under the title of ' Bible News relat- 
ing to the living God, His only Son and Holy Spirit.' As it may be 
easily procured, I shall not quote from it. Every Christian must 
admire the truly excellent spirit in which it is written. 



It may be gratifying to some readers, to see the language which 
was used by some of the earliest Christian writers after the apostles, 
when speaking of Christ. 

Clement, the companion and fellow-laborer of Paul, who is men- 
tioned with so much honor in the epistle to the Philippzans, has left 
an epistle to the Corinthians, whose genuineness is fully established. 
It is practical, not doctrinal, and deserves to be published for its ex- 
cellent spirit. I shall quote from it, without regard to the connec- 
tion, the only passages from which any inference can be drawn, of 
his belief on the subject in question. 

It begins thus — ' The church of God which is at Rome (of which 
Clement was Bishop) to the church of God which is at Corinth, call- 
ed, sanctified by the will of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; 
grace and peace from the Almighty God, by Jesus Christ, be multi- 
plied unto you.' The sixteenth chapter commences thus : ' For 
Christ is theirs who are humble, and not who exalt themselves over 
his flock. The sceptre of the majesty of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
came not in the show of pride and arrogance, though he could have 



172 NOTES. 

done so ; but with humility, as the Holy Ghost had before spoken of 
him.' (Isaiah liii.) In the twentieth chapter we find, 'Even the 
smallest creatures live together in peace and concord with each 
other. All these has the great Creator commanded to observe peace 
and concord, being good to all ; but especially to us who flee to His 
mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and majesty 
forever and ever.' In the twenty-first chapter, * Let us reverence 
our Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was given for us.' In the thirty- 
sixth chapter, * This is the way beloved, in which we may find our 
Saviour, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the 
defender and helper of our weakness. By him we look up to the 
highest heavens, &c. By him are the eyes of our hearts opened, 
&c. By him would God have us taste the knowledge of immortal- 
ity ; * who being the brightness of his glory, is so much greater than 
the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name 
than they.' In the forty-second chapter, ' The apostles have preach- 
ed to us from our Lord Jesus Christ ; Jesus Christ from God. Christ 
therefore was sent according to the will of God.' In the forty-sixth 
chapter, l Have we not all one God, and one Christ ? Is not one 
spirit of grace poured out upon us all ? Have we not one calling 
in Christ ? Why then do we rend and tear in pieces the members of 
Christ, and raise seditions against our own body ? ' In the fifty- 
eighth chapter, ■ Now God, the Inspector of all things, the Father 
of spirits, and the Lord of all flesh, who hath chosen our Lord Je- 
sus Christ, and us by him, &c. c through our High Priest and pro- 
tector Jesus Christ, by whom be glory and majesty and power and 
honor unto Him now and forever more.' In the sixtieth chapter, 
4 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, and with all that 
are anywhere called by God through him ; to whom be honor and 
glory and might and majesty and eternal dominion by Christ Jesus 
from everlasting to everlasting.' 

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of St. John. He 
has left an epistle to the Philippians, from which I extract all the 
passages which seem to me important in this connection. In the in- 
troduction, he invokes mercy and peace to them ' from God Almighty 
and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.' In the first chapter, we 
find, ' Such as are truly chosen by God and our Lord.' ' Our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who suffered himself to be brought even to the death 
for our sins.' In the second chapter, ■ Believing in Him that raised 
up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and hath given him 



NOTES. 17<5 

glory, and a throne at His right hand. 1 In the twelfth chapter, 
1 Now the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He himself 
who is our everlasting High Priest, the Son of God, even Jesus Christ, 
build you up,' &c. ( Who shall believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and in his Father who raised him from the dead.' Poly carp suf- 
fered martyrdom. Being called upon while in the names to abjure 
Christ and swear by Caesar, he replied, ■ Eighty and six years have 
I now served Christ, and he has never done me the least wrong, 
luw then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour.' 

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was a contemporary of Polycarp, and 
probably a disciple of the apostles. He suffered martyrdom, being 
torn in pieces by wild beasts in the amphitheatre at Pvome. On his 
way thither as a prisoner, he wrote epistles to several churches ; 
seven of those which have come down to us, have satisfactory attes- 
tations to their genuineness, at least in the main. I shall extract 
from them the most forcible passages which have a bearing on the 
point in question. In the epistle to the Ephesians, we find in chap- 
ter fourth, ' That so ye may in a perfect unity, with one voice, sing 
to the Father by Jesus Christ.' In chapter fifth, • Who are so joined 
to Him as the church is to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ to God.' 
In chapter seventh, ' There is one physician, both fleshly and spirit- 
ual ; made and not made ; God incarnate (God clothed in flesh) } 
true life in death ; both of Mary and of God ; first passible, then 
impassible, even Jesus Christ our Lord.' In chapter eighteenth, 
* For our God Jesus Christ was according to the dispensation of God 
conceived, &c. by the Holy Ghost.' In chapter twentieth; ' But if 
Jesus Christ shall give me grace through your prayers, and it be his 
will, I shall write,' &c. * Jesus Christ, who was of the race of Da- 
vid according to the flesh; the Son of man and the Son of God.' 
In the epistle to the Magnesians, chapter sixth, ' Jesus Christ who 
was with the Father before all ages, and appeared in the end to us.' 
In chapter seventh, ' Wherefore come ye all together as unto one 
temple of God ; as to one altar ; as to one Jesus Christ ; who pro- 
ceeded from one Father, and exists in One, and is returned to Him.' 1 
Chapter eighth, ' There is one God who has manifested himself by 
Jesus Christ, (who is His Eternal Word, not coming forth from si- 
lence,) # who in all things pleased Him that sent him.' In his epistle 

* Lavdner, who quotes this passage, thinks this clause * 1 interpolation. 
15* 



174 NOTES. 

to the Romans, we find in the introduction, * To the church which 
has obtained mercy from the majesty of the Most High Father and 
His only begotten Son Jesus Christ ' — ' filled with the grace of God 
in Jesus Christ our God. 5 In the epistle to the Philadelphians we 
find, chapter first, ' By the love of God the Father and our Lord Jesus 
Christ.' In the epistle to the Smyrnseans, in the first chapter, ' I 
glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who has given you such wisdom.' 
* Who truly was of the race of David according to the flesh, but the 
Son of God according to the will and power of God.' In his epis- 
tles he expresses the strongest desire for martyrdom. ' Pray unto 
Christ for me, that by these instruments I may be made the sacrifice 
of God.' 6 My desire is to die.' 

From Irenseus, Bishop of Lyons, who is said to have been a disciple 
of Polycarp, and was certainly acquainted with him, I have taken a 
few passages as quoted by Lardner. l All these (the apostles) have 
delivered to us that there is one God, the Maker of the heaven and 
the earth, declared by the law and the prophets, and one Christ, the 
Son of God.' ' John declares his primary and glorious derivation 
from the Father.' c Willing to cut off these errors (of Cerinthus and 
others) he (John) declares that there is one God, Almighty, who by 
His Word made all things, &c. Likewise that by the Word by 
which God finished the creation, by the same also He bestowed salva- 
tion,' &c. He then refers to John i. 1, 5. e This same thing Paul 
has explained.' Writing to the Bomans, of Israel he says, « Whose 
are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came,' 
who is ' God over all blessed forever.' He quotes Matthew i. 18. I 
add two more passages as quoted by Dr. Watts, one of which is 
strikingly in accordance with the doctrine of this discourse, and he 
would seem in it to have had reference to the text. ' The Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed and manifested to angels and arch- 
angels, to principalities and powers, and to men by His Word, who is 
in His Son. The Son reveals the Father to all to whom the Father 
is revealed. The Word ministers to the Father in all things ! He 
made all things by His Word.' He further says (as quoted by Dr. 
Clarke) ' that the production, or birth of the Word is ineffable, not 
understood by men or angels, but only by the Son.' ' The doctrine 
delivered by the apostles is, that there is one God Almighty, and 
that He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This God is the 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of Him it is that the apostle 



NOTES. 175 

declares ( there is one God,' even 'the Father, who is above all, 
and through all, and in us all.' 'St. John preached one God, su- 
preme over all, and one only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.' 

I select a few passages from two of the earliest apologists for 
Christianity, Justin Martyr and Tertullian. Justin, ■ the admira- 
ble man, 5 was a native of Sichem, in Palestine. He embraced 
Christianity about the year 133, and suffered martyrdom in the 75th 
or 76th year of his age. Tertullian was a native of Carthage, born 
about the year 150, eminently learned. Cave supposes that he was 
converted to Christianity about the year 185. It was said of him by 
an ancient writer, that • as Origen had the first place among the 
Greeks, so Tertullian ought to be esteemed, without dispute, the 
prince of all the Latin writers of the church.' 

In Justin's first Apology we find, chapter "sixth, { The most true 
God, the Father of righteousness, Him and His only begotten Son, 
&c. (who has instructed us concerning those evil spirits, and like- 
wise acquainted us with another host of good and godlike minister- 
ing spirits) both these, I say, together with the spirit, who spake by 
the prophets, we worship,' &c. Chapter thirteenth — e That Logos, 
(Word) who next to God his Father, we know to be the supreme and 
justest of Kings, and above all principalities and powers in nature.' 
Chapter fourteenth, c Our master Jesus Christ, from whom we take the 
name of Christians, the Son and Apostle of that God who is the Su- 
preme Lord and Maker of the Universe,' &c. Chapter sixteenth, 'Jesus 
Christ, whom we know to be the Son of the true God, and therefore hold 
him the second in order, and the prophetic Spirit the third, and that 
we have good reason for worshipping in this subordination, I shall 
show hereafter.' Chapter thirty-first, ■ Jesus alone is properly the 
son of God, as being the Logos, and first begotten, and power of God, 
and by His counsel was made man/ &c. Chapter forty-first, ' Not of 
human, but of divine generation ; and the first power next to God, the 
Father and Lord of all, is His Son, the Logos ; but how this Logos 
was incarnated and made man, shall be declared in order.' In the 
forty-second and forty-third chapters, he treats of the miraculous birth 
of Christ, and quotes in proof of it, Isaiah vii. 14, Luke i. 31, 35, Mat- 
thew i. 21. Id chapter forty-fifth, ■ That the prophets were inspired 
by nothing but this Divine Wisdom, or Logos, is what you yourselves 
will grant me ) but where this Logos was to be born, hear Micah,' &c. 
He says in chapter sixty-first, * We have already proved him to be the 



176 NOTES. 

very Logos or universal Reason of which all men are partakers, and 
therefore all who live by reason, are in some sense Christians. Such 
among the Greeks were Socrates and Heraclitus and the like, and 
such among the barbarians, Abraham/ &c. ' The Logos, by the will 
of God the Father and Lord of all, was, by the very power of him- 
self, made man, &c. — and was named Jesus, and was crucified, 
and died and rose again from the dead, and went again into 
heaven.' Chapter sixty-five, l And to acquaint us that the Sufferer 
of all this was of a generation inexplicable, the prophetic Spirit 
speaks thus : " Who shall declare his generation ? " ' In speaking 
of baptism, he says, ' the penitent has called over him the name 
of God, the Father and Lord of all things ; (we call God by no other 
name, because we have not any appellation for the ineffable majesty 
of God that can explain His nature J and moreover the person bap- 
tized is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified, &c 
and in the name of the Holy Gnost, who spake by the prophets, and 
foretold every thing concerning Christ.' In chapter eighty-third, ' The 
very pre-existing Logos who appeared sometimes in the form of fire, 
sometimes in the likeness of angels, and in these last days was made 
man by the will of God. ' « They who affirm the Son to be the 
Father, are guilty of not knowing the Father.' 'The Logos and 
first begotten of God is God.' In his account of the Lord's Supper, 
he says, ' The President, or Bishop, offers up praise and glory to the 
Father of all things, through the name of His Son and the Holy 
Spirit.' 

Dr. Priestley quotes the following passage from another work of 
Justin, which I have not at hand : * ' There are some of our profes- 
sion who acknowledge him (Jesus) to be the Christ, yet maintain 
that he was a man, born of man. I do not agree with them, nor 
should I be prevailed upon by ever so many who hold that opinion ; 
because we are taught by Christ himself not to receive our doctrine 
from men, but from what was taught by the holy prophets and by 
himself.' Dr. Clarke also quotes from the same book a number of 
passages, from which I can take but two or three. ' He hath all 
these titles (Son, Wisdom, Angel, God, Lord, and Word) from his 
ministering to his Father's will, and being the only begotten of the 
Father by His will.' ' Produced from the Father before all crea- 
tures.' * Who, by the will of God is with God, as being His Son, 
and also His Messenger, as ministering to His will.' 

* I h ave since procured it. 



NOTES. 177 

From Tertullian I can quote but a few passages, lest I should ex- 
haust the patience of those readers who feel less interest in the sub- 
ject than I do. In the seventeenth chapter of his < Apology ' he says, 
* The God we worship is one God.' In the twenty-first chapter, * God 
reared this fabric of the world out of nothing, by His Word, Wisdom, 
or Power, and it is evident your sages of old were of the same 
opinion that the Logos, i. e. the Word, or the Wisdom, was the 
Maker of the universe. Zeno determines the Logos to be the Cre- 
ator and Adjuster of every thing in nature. The same Logos he 
affirms to be called by the name of Fate, God, Mind of Jove, and 
Necessity of all things. Cleanthes will have the Author of the world 
to be a Spirit which pervades every part of it. And we Christians, 
also, do affirm a Spirit to be the proper substance of the Logos, by 
whom all things were made, in which he subsisted before he was 
spoken out, and was the Wisdom that assisted at the creation and the 
Power that presided over the whole work. The Logos, or Word is- 
suing forth from that spiritual substance at the creation of the world, 
and generated by that issuing, or progression, is for this reason 
called the Son of God, and the God, from his unity of substance with 
God the Father, for God is a Spirit. An imperfect image you have 
of this in the derivation of a ray from the body of the sun ; for this 
ray is a part without any diminution of the whole, but the sun is 
always in the ray, because the ray is always from the sun ; nor is the 
substance separated, but only extended. Thus is it, in some meas- 
ure, in the eternal generation of the Logos ; — He is a Spirit; He is a 
Spirit of a Spirit, a God of God, as one light is generated by another ; 
the original, parent Light remaining entire and undiminished, not- 
withstanding the communication of itself to so many other lights. 
Thus it is that the Logos, which came forth from God, is both God 
and the Son of God, and those Two are One. Hence it is, that a 
Spirit of a Spirit makes another in mode of subsistence, but not in 
number ; in order of nature, but not in numericalness, or identity 
of essence ; and so the Son is subordinate to the Father, as he comes 
from Him, as the principal, but is never separated. This Ray of 
God then descended, &c. — and this is the Christ, the God of 
Christians.'* I quote one passage more. It is from another work 



* Justin Martyr has given an illustration of this subject similar to this of Ter- 
tullian 



178 



NOTES. 



of Tertullian, to which I have not access, and therefore take the pas- 
sage from Lardner. ' I will therefore by no means say Gods nor 
Lords, but I will follow the apostle, so that if the Father and the Son 
are to be mentioned together, I will say God the Father, and Jesus 
Christ the Lord. But when I mention Christ only, I can call him 
God, as the apostle does, — c Of whom Christ came ; who is,' says 
he, ' over all, God blessed forever.' In another work, as quoted by 
Dr. Clarke, he says, t As the Word of God is not the same person 
whose "Word, he is, so neither is the Spirit ; and if he is called God, 
yet it is not thereby meant that he is that God whose Spirit he is ; 
for nothing which belongs to another can be that same thing to 
which it belongs.' 'One God only — who made all things by His 
Word emitted first of all.' 

With a few passages from Origen and Eusebius, to whom I have 
referred in the preceding notes, I shall conclude my extracts from 
the ancient writers. 

Origen says — ' The immediate maker of the world, and as it were 
builder of it in His own person, is the Son or Word of God ; but the 
Father, who appointed His Son or Word to make the world, is the 
principal Author of it.' ' The Word made all things which the 
Father commanded.' 'Who else was able to save the soul of man, 
and bring it to the Supreme God over all, but God the Word ? ' — 
* We affirm the Son not to be more powerful, but less powerful than 
the Father ; and this we do in obedience to his own words, "My 
Father which sent me is greater than I." But when we consider our 
Saviour as God, the Word,' (or as some read it, the Word of God,) 
' and Wisdom and Righteousness and Truth ; we then indeed exalt 
His kingdom over all who are subject to him, as having these titles ; 
but not over his God and Father, to whom, on the contrary, he 
himself is subject.' ' Be it so that some among us (as in such a 
multitude of believers there cannot but be a diversity of opinions) 
are so rash as to imagine our Saviour to be himself the Supreme 
God over all, yet we do not so, who believe His own words, " My 
Father is greater than I." ' « Whatever is God besides the self-exist- 
ing person,' (God the Father) 'being so only by communication of 
his divinity, cannot so properly be styled that God, but rather a 
divine person.' 

Eusebius says, — ' All the Father's grace was poured out upon 
the beloved, for it was the Father who spake in him.' ' He was 



NOTES. 179 

anointed with the spirit of the Father's deity, and therefore called 
Christ.' — * If this makes them apprehensive lest we should seem to 
introduce two Gods, let them know, that though we do indeed ac- 
knowledge the Son to be God, yet there is but one God, even He who 
alone is without original , — who has His divinity of himself, and is 
the Cause even to the Son himself of his being, and his being what 
he is, — whom the Son himself teaches us to look upon as the only 
true God, and declares to be greater than himself.' ' Wherefore God 
himself cannot be a mediator ; for between whom should He be a 
mediator ? And we must not conceive the mediator to be himself 
either the Supreme God, or one of the angels ; but a middle, and 
mediator between them.' ' God from God, Light from Light, &c. — 
before all ages.' Of the Spirit he says, with the Arians, that 'he 
was made by the Son.' Eusebius further says, that ' the use of 
unscriptural phrases has been the great cause of the dissensions and 
disturbances that have happened in the church.' 

Justin Martyr was a Platonist before he was a Christian. How 
far his writings, or any others I have quoted, are tinctured with this 
system, must be matter of conjecture. I am not concerned to prove 
or disprove it. 

It is impossible to ascertain the precise views of the early Chris- 
tians respecting the nature of Christ, from the writings that have 
come down to us. They seem to me to have believed that the Word 
or Wisdom, to which they often gave a personal character, was eter- 
nal, that it was in God and was God ; but the ' Son of God ' they 
considered as having had a beginning. Tertullian says, ' Though 
God is a Father, yet He was not always a Father ; there was a time 
when the Son was not.' And as late as the time of the Nicene 
Council, Athanasius, who has very improperly, I think, been consid- 
ered the author of the scheme of three co-equal and co-eternal persons 
in the Godhead,* uses this language, as he is quoted by Dr. Watts : 
1 He who had an existence before, was afterwards begotten as a Son.' 



* A few passages from Athanasius, (which I have discovered since I wrote the 
above,) as found in Dr. Clarke's work above quoted, will perhaps give the reader 
some idea of his sentiments* ' The one only and true God, I mean the Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ.' ' There is but one Gob, because the Father is but One, yet 
is the Son also God, having such a sameness as a Son to a Father.' 4 Because He 
only (the Father) is unbegotten, and He only is the Fountain of Divinity, therefore 



180 NOTES. 

Considering the Word as God, and that Word made flesh, they 
often give the title God to the Son of God, in whom the Word dwelt. 
The Word had gone out from the Supreme God, but still it was 
God ; God of God, Light of Light, as they sometimes expressed it. 
'They frequently,' however, 'speak,' I quote Dr. Watts, 'of the 
Son's subordination to the Father as to his being j of his proceed- 
ing, or being produced from the Father, being the first born of every 
creature. They speak of his existence and his Godhead beiDg derived 
from the Father, together with all his power and glory.' 

* Though all of them grant the co-eternal existence of the Logos, as 
a divine power, as the reason or wisdom of God, and in this sense 
some of them say the Father was always a Father, and never was 
without a Son, considered as the internal word, wisdom or reason 
of God ; yet many of the most early writers make the generation 
and distinct Sonship of the Logos, to be temporary and voluntary 
and antemundane, and speak not plainly of any other.' 

1 When they speak of God the Father, they greatly advance their 
style ; they bear witness to His self-existent, unbegotten and unde- 
rived nature, and call Him autotheos, God himself; which sort of 
expressions they utterly deny to the Son. When they explain the 
text John xiv. 28, the ancients generally confess it to belong to 
Christ in his pre-existent nature, before his incarnation ; and be- 
cause the Father is the principle and original of the Son, therefore 
they say he is greater. It is true, they sometimes make the nature 
of the Father and Son the same ; but they had such a settled belief 



He is styled the only God.' ' We acknowledge but One Original in all things, and 
affirm that the creating Word has no other kind of divinity, but that of the only 
God as being begotten of him.' ' The one God is the Father who exists by himself, 
as being over all, and is manifested by His Son.' c It is necessary to acknowledge 
one God the Governor of the Universe ; and that He is One and not Many ; and 
one Word of God, which is the Lord and Ruler of the creation.' * As God himself 
is far above all, so is the Way to him (Christ) far above us.' ' Concerning the eter- 
nal existence of the Son and the Spirit with God.'' l By the Son and in the Spirit, 
did God create and does preserve all things.' i And in this respect he must be said 
to be sent, that by the unspeakable will of the Father, who is incapable of being 
united to a body, he took upon him a body.' ' As men when they behold the 
heavens, and the beauty thereof, cannot but thence be led to consider the Word 
which framed that beautiful fabric, so when they consider the Word of God they 
cannot but thence be led to the consideration of God, his Father, from whom he 
coming forth is properly styled the Interpreter and Messenger of God.' 



NOTE?. 181 

and universal maxim among them, that the Father had some pre- 
eminence and prerogative above the Son, that they express His pri- 
ority to the Son in various forms of speech.' Thus far Dr. Watts. 
Having previously formed my own opinion of the views of the early 
Christian writers, I am much strengthened and confirmed in that 
opinion by finding it correspond with the conclusion which this sen- 
sible and excellent man has drawn from their writings. Whether 
any thing like this is the doctrine of Scripture, and tends, more 
than any other system, to give consistency and force to the various 
passages on this subject, every Christian must decide for himself. I 
form my own opinion, and censure no one. 

I have quoted much from Dr. Watts ; it is due to him to quote, 
for a purpose which must be obvious, a few more passages : 

* Since our salvation does not depend upon the knowledge of the 
precise points of unity and distinction between Father and Son and 
Spirit, or whether the Word and Spirit be proper powers or proper 
persons in their own sublime nature ; but upon their Divine all-suf- 
ficiency to fulfil their offices, and support their relations to us ; it is 
very probable that God condescended to talk to His people according 
to their own way of thinking and talking, and to represent himself as 
acting by His divine powers under the character of persons, without 
giving us any account of the real philosophical distinctions in His 
incomprehensible essence, how great or how little they are. And the 
reason may be, that an exact and just philosophical account of these 
things is perhaps too transcendent for our conceptions in the present 
state ; or that it was not necessary to meliorate our temper and 
practice, or promote our salvation.' 

1 W T e should ever take care lest by anxious inquiries into things 
less necessary, we should unhappily divert ourselves, or others, from 
those practical regards which we all owe to the Father, Son and 
Spirit, and which all parties agree to be necessary to salvation.' 

* It must be acknowledged that there has no public-received 
scheme been yet so successful to explain this doctrine, but what has 
several difficulties attending it, and has left too much room for the 
cavil of unbelievers. Nor have any of these schemes hitherto very 
much assisted the unlearned Christian in the practice of his devo- 
tions, or blessed him with much clearer and juster ideas of the mat- 
ter than his own reading of the Bible had given him before.' 

1 How vain a presumption is it, with the pretence of Divine author- 
VOL. I. 16 



182 NOTES. 

ity, to impose mere human explications upon the consciences of men, 
and forbid them all the sacred blessings of especial communion in 
the gospel, unless they testify their assent to such a particular hy- 
pothesis or scheme of explication which the imposers confess to be 
human, and yet impose it in their own prescribed form of words.' 

For the genuineness of the writings of the early fathers, I rely 
chiefly on the authority of Dr. Lardner, who has given extracts from 
Irengeus and Eusebius, and many others, in proof of their genuine- 
ness ; and on the testimonies prefixed to the edition of the Apostolic 
Epistles, in Greek and Latin, by Cotolerius and others, which I 
have had the privilege of consulting. I have consulted Dr. Lard- 
ner with great pleasure, and I trust not without profit. It is 
refreshing to turn to him from the partiality and prejudice of 
most of the wise and good men to whose works I have had occa- 
sion to refer. Though compelled to dissent from many of the 
conclusions of this truly learned and excellent man, I cannot 
but reverence his Christian spirit, the respect and candor with 
which he examines the opinions of others, and the meekness and 
gentleness with which he defends his own. How do the testimonies 
of such men as Archbishop Seeker and Dr. Doddridge, to his piety 
and worth, put to shame many of their own communions at the 
present day ! The former asks for his prayers as one who ' loves the 
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ; ' and the latter, on receiving his 
volume of Sermons, after speaking of ' his learning and piety,' and 
expressing the belief that his * writings are a blessing to the Chris- 
tian world,' says, ' In the interpretation of particular texts, and the 
manner of stating particular doctrines, good men and good friends 
may have different apprehensions, but you always propose your sen- 
timents with such good humor and modesty, &c. — and the grand 
desire of spreading righteousness, benevolence, prudence, the fear 
of God and a heavenly temper and conversation so plainly appears, 
that were I a much stricter Calvinist than I am, I should honor and 
love the author if I did not personally know him.' 

In the investigation of this subject, little as I may appear to have 
accomplished, I have sought for opinions and facts in many books, 
comparing various statements with diligence and care. In the 
extracts I have given, I have anxiously endeavored to present 
the true meaning of the author, and in my selections, to avoid being 



NOTES. 183 

subjected to the charge of partiality. I have sought, I believe, and 
written, with an unprejudiced mind, for, if there is any subject on 
which I can do it, it is this. Considering it as unrevealed, and 
aware, therefore, of ray own ignorance, I respect no man the less for 
his hypothesis. I consider charity as the first of Christian graces ; I 
desire earnestly to possess it, and I revere and love it wherever it is 
found. 



The following prayer by Archbishop Tillotson, and an extract 
from a prayer of Dr. Watts, may serve as an appropriate conclusion 
to these notes : — 

1 O Lord God of truth, I humbly beseech Thee to enlighten my mind 
by the Holy Spirit, that I may discover the true way to eternal salva- 
tion ; and to free me from all prejudice and passion, from every corrupt 
affection and interest, that may either blind me or seduce me in my 
search after it. 

1 Make me impartial in my inquiry after truth, and ready, whenever it 
is discovered to me, to receive it in the love of it, to obey it from the 
heart, and to practise it in my life, and to continue steadfast in the pro- 
fession of it to the end of my days. 

c I perfectly resign myself, O Lord, to Thy conduct and direction, in 
confidence that Thy mercy and goodness are such, that Thou wilt not 
surfer those who sincerely desire to know the truth, and rely upon Thy 
guidance, finally to miscarry. 

'And if in any thing which concerns the true worship and service of 
Thee, my God, and the everlasting happiness of my soul, I am in any 
error or mistake, I earnestly beg of Thee to convince me of it, and to 
lead me into the way of truth ; and to confirm and establish me in it 
daily more and more. 

1 And I beseech Thee, O Lord. alway r s to preserve in me a great com- 
passion and sincere charity towards those that are in error and ignorance 
of Thy truth ; beseeching Thee to take pity on them, and to bring them 
to the knowledge of it, that they may be saved. 

' And because our blessed Saviour hath promised that all that do his 
will, shall know his doctrine ; grant, O Lord, that I may never know- 
ingly offend Thee in any thing, or neglect to do what I know to be Thy 
will, and my duty. 

1 Grant, O Heavenly Father, ihese my humble and hearty requests, for 
his sake, who is the way, the truth and the life, my blessed Saviour and 
Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.' 



184 



NOTES. 



EXTRACT FROM A PRAYER OF DR. WATTS. 



I regret that the length of this admirable prayer prevents the in- 
sertion of the whole of it. It is taken from an edition of Dr. Watts's 
works, published by Baines, a Calvinistic bookseller, and is edited by 
a Calvinist. The editor has omitted Dr. Watts's ' Last Thoughts ' on 
the subject of the Trinity, because they were not sufficiently trinita- 
rian for him. 

' Permit me, O my God and Father, to plead with Thee concerning the 
revelations of Thy nature and Thy grace, which are made in Thy gos- 
pel ; and let me do it with all that humble reverence and that holy awe 
of Thy majesty, which become a creature in the presence of his God. 

' Hadst Thou told me plainly? in any one single text, that the Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, are three real, distinct persons in Thy Divine na- 
ture, I had never suffered myself to be bewildered by so many doubts, 
nor embarrassed with so many strong fears of assenting to the mere in- 
ventions of men, instead of Divine doctrine. 

' Or hadst Thou been pleased so to express and include this proposi- 
tion in the several scattered parts of Thy book, from whence my reason 
and conscience might with ease find out, and with certainty infer, this 
doctrine, I should have joyfully employed all my reasoning power?, with 
their utmost skill and activity, to have found out this inference, and in- 
grafted it into my soul. 

1 Thou hast called the poor and the ignorant, the mean and foolish 
things of this world to the knowledge of Thyself and Thy Son, and 
taught them to receive and partake of the salvation Thou hast provided. 
But how can such weak creatures ever take in so strange, so difficult 
and abstruse a doctrine as this ; in the explication and defence whereof, 
multitudes of men, even men of learning and piety, have lost themselves 
in infinite subtleties of dispute and endless mazes of darkness ? And 
can this strange and perplexing notion of three real persons going to 
make up one true God, be so necessary and so important a part of that 
Christian doctrine, which in the Old Testament and the New, is repre- 
sented as so plain and easy, even to the meanest understandings ? 

( O Thou Searcher of Hearts, who knowest all things, I appeal to Thee 
concerning the sincerity of my inquiries into these discoveries of Thy Word. 

1 Thou art witness, O my God, with what diligence, with what con- 
stancy and care, I have read and searched Thy Holy Word, how early and 
late, by night and by day, I have been making these inquiries. How 
fervently have I been seeking thee on my bended knees, and directing 
my humble addresses to Thee to enlighten my darkness, and to show me 
the meaning of Thy word, that I may learn what I must believe, and 
what I must practise with regard to this doctrine, in order to please Thee 
and obtain eternal life ! ' 



SERMON X. 



UNION IN SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS NOT 
ESSENTIAL TO PEACE. 

[At the Dedication of a Church in Natick, 1828.] 

Haggai, ii. 9. — in this place will i give peace, saith the lord 

OF HOSTS. 

The love of excitement is a part of our nature. It 
is early developed, and gathers strength with our 
increasing years. It is into this principle that we 
must, in part at least, resolve the desire for rash and 
hazardous adventure, as well as for deeds of high 
and noble daring. It is to this principle that we 
must refer that fondness for the marvellous, of which 
we are conscious ourselves, and which we discover 
in those around us; the interest with which we 
listen to tales of wonder, or of horror, or of deep 
pathos ; and the propensity we have to relate to 
others whatever will occasion a strong emotion. In 
this respect, mankind always have been, and always 
will be, Athenians, who loved ' to tell, or to hear, 
something new.' 

It is not to minister food to this passion, as you 
16* 



186 UNION IN SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS 

may perceive from the text, my hearers, that I have 
come hither. There is nothing new or exciting in 
the language of peace. It is old as the days when 
the shepherds tended their flocks upon the plains of 
Bethlehem, and the angels announced the peaceful 
reign of the Redeemer. It is old as the first-born 
days of our beautiful world, ere sin had entered to 
mar its just and fair proportions, when the Creator 
looked upon the works He had made and pronounced 
them good, when ' the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy.' 

But these days have passed away. They are 
discerned only through the long vista of intervening 
years. The song of the angels, and their shouts of 
joy, are heard no longer, but the sound of the trum- 
pet, and the tramp of the war-horse, and the, clash 
of arms. Even the professed disciples of the meek 
and lowly Jesus, have girded themselves for the 
fight, and gone forth to battle, not with their ene- 
mies, but with their brethren. They are contending 
with each other in the open field, or, they are 'whet- 
ting their tongues like a sword,' and 'in secret are 
shooting their arrows, even bitter words;' or they 
are watching at i the passages of Jordan,' like the 
Gileadites of old, to prevent those from passing 
over to the promised land, who cannot sound the 
aspirate in shibboleth with as much distinctness as 
themselves. 

It might seem, then, to be more in accordance 
with the spirit of the times, — though not with the 
genius and spirit of Christianity, — if I were to 



NOT ESSENTIAL TO PEACE. 187 

take, on this occasion, the side of one of the bel- 
ligerents, and wield the weapons of controversy. 
But, in so doing, I should do violence to my own 
feelings, and injustice to you. i I am for peace ; ' 
and it is for this reason, as I am well assured, that I 
have been called to address you at the present time. 
I view this call as one, among many, indications of 
a returning feeling in the community in favor of 
peace. These are the harbingers of better times. 
They are streaks of light which betoken the dawn 
of a brighter day. The world is becoming tired of 
contention. It is beginning to sigh for repose. It 
is looking back with melancholy remembrance to 
the time, for there was such a time, at least in our 
community, when Christian ministers, and Christian 
people, forget their differences in the consciousness 
of brotherhood. They differed, but agreed to differ, 
and thus, — problematical as it might at first ap- 
pear, — could ivalk together ', when they were not 
agreed* 

But I am told that the world is growing wiser as 
it is growing older. I hear much of ' the march of 
mind,' — of the rapid strides it is making in the path 
of perfect knowledge and perfect virtue. I hear 
much of an influx of light from the Eastern hemis- 
phere, and that controversy is to promote its diffu- 
sion through our Western world. . 

1 Tell us not,' it is said, ' of uniting Christians by 



* There were doubtless some exceptions, but they were, compara- 
tively, few. 



188 UNION IN SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS 

a Christian name. Christians will differ. Chris- 
tians must differ in order to their agreement. Con- 
tention will lead to investigation, and investigation 
will elicit truth.' But what truth ? ' Orthodoxy] 
says one of the contending parties. ' Unitarianism] 
says another of the contending parties. ' Give them 
but just principles of criticism,' says one, ' and they 
will " understand all mysteries." ' Give them a 
knowledge of exegesis,' says the other, ' and they 
will learn that there are mysteries.' ' And thus they 
will come to the truth and be united.' But in what 
will they be united ? I grant that if they could see 
with the eyes, and understand with the understand- 
ing, either of my Orthodox or Unitarian brother, 
they would think alike ; but can they see with the 
eyes of both ? 

But the subjects of controversy are revealed, I am 
told, and nothing is needed but an unprejudiced 
attention, with the blessing of God, to come to the 
knowledge of them. ' Can any thing be clearer 
than that the Scriptures reveal a Trinity of persons 
in the Godhead ? Is it not the Alpha and Omega of 
revelation ? Does it not begin and end the Bible ? 
Can language be more explicit than that of our 
Saviour, " I and my Father are one " ? ' 

' And is it possible,' it is replied, ' that you do not 
perceive the Divine unity distinctly impressed upon 
every part of the works, and every page of the word 
of God? Does not the Son of God himself de- 
clare, " My Father is greater than I" ? ' And thus 
it is that my brethren show me that the nature of 



NOT ESSENTIAL TO PEACE. 189 

the Godhead is revealed, and that nothing is needed 
but devout investigation to understand it. 

And can it be that any one can seriously think 
that the mass of Christians will ever have time to 
learn the principles of criticism, or even to under- 
stand the hard names by which they are designated ? 
Can it be that any one can seriously think that the 
farmer will leave his farm, or the merchant his mer- 
chandise, to become biblical critics ? I have no fear 
of it. No — I shall be glad if they will read their 
Bible as they now have it, with such understanding 
as God has given them, and such light as the Holy 
Spirit will impart to them. Criticism and learning 
and historical research have doubtless done much 
to elucidate Scripture, but the unlearned Christian 
need not fear that in following his Bible as it now 
is, he is following an uncertain guide. There may 
be here and there a homely phrase, and a refined 
taste may wish to change it ; and here and there a 
mistranslation, which criticism may correct, — if 
critics can agree what it should be; — but the ver- 
sion you now have, my hearers, is sufficient, without 
any alteration, to guide you to heaven. Yes, this 
time-hallowed book, — associated with vour dearest 
remembrances, with instruction which yet lives in 
your hearts though the sound has ceased to vibrate 
on the ear, and the lips which imparted it may be 
silent in the grave, — this time-hallowed book, with- 
out any alteration, is sufficient to guide you to 
heaven. Let theologues beware how they obscure 



190 UNION IN SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS 

its light by their glosses, and ' darken its counsels 
by words without wisdom.' 

I highly appreciate the labors of the learned in 
ascertaining the true text of Scripture, and illus- 
trating the circumstances under which it was writ- 
ten. I rejoice in every thing that enables Christians 
to read their Bible intelligibly, but I would have 
them read it with their own understandings. I 
much doubt the benefit of doctrinal ' Expositors,' or 
Commentaries ; and if most, if not all, such Com- 
mentaries were collected and offered in sacrifice to 
the cause of truth and charity, I am not sure that 
the world would not gain by the holocaust. It is 
well that the ministers of religion, — where it can 
be so, — should study the principles of criticism; 
but, after all, studying them under different auspices, 
from the same principles they will arrive at different 
results, — and the world will go on as it has done. 
One set of opinions will be taught and received in 
one church, and another set of opinions in another 
church, till men have other powers and other pas- 
sions than they now have. 

Let me tell the controversialist, let history tell 
him, — and facts are worth all his theorizing, — that, 
if he hopes to see a union of sentiment among 
Christians, or that there ever will be a union of sen- 
timent among Christians, his hopes are visionary. 
If he is laboring to effect it, he is ' laboring in vain, 
and spending his strength for nought.' If he is 
contending to effect it, he is fighting ' as one that 
beateth the air.' 



NOT ESSENTIAL TO PEACE. 191 

From the infancy of Christianity, men have dif- 
fered, and till the end of Christianity, they will 
differ. They must learn, whilst, by the best inves- 
tigation they can yield, they seek to arrive at the 
knowledge of ' the truth as it is in Jesus,' amidst 
differences of opinion, l to keep the unity of the 
spirit in the bond of peace.' Peter and Paul dif- 
fered ; Paul and Barnabas differed ; but Peter and 
Paul and Paul and Barnabas did not stigmatize 
each other as heretics, refuse to each other the Chris- 
tian name, and communion in Christian ordinances. 

Yes ! — I repeat the language of the controver- 
sialist, — ' Christians will differ. Christians must 
differ.' But I go farther; — it is well they should 
differ. ' Who maketh thee to differ from another ? ' 
may be asked with as much propriety in regard to 
opinions, as in regard to the faculties of the body, 
and the powers of the mind, and I discern as much 
wisdom in these differences as in the differing linea- 
ments of human countenances, and the different 
degrees of human intellect. I discern in them a 
moral beauty, and a moral benefit. 

Can there be a more beautiful spectacle than a 
Christian community differing in opinion, but united 
in affection? Each maintaining his own right ot 
private judgment, but respecting the rights of 
others? Can there be a more beautiful spectacle 
than that of Christians assembling in various places, 
under various forms, to worship God, but mingling 
their spirits in their acts of devotion, as children of 
one Father, and disciples of one Saviour? — Besides, 



192 UNION OF SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS 

how different are the understandings and disposi- 
tions and circumstances of mankind, and by what 
different motives are they impelled to duty. You 
teach your brother that the faith by which he over- 
comes the world is unsound, and the hope by which 
he aspires after heaven is fallacious, and thus take 
away the foundation on which his faith is built, and 
the anchor on which his hope is leaning. And 
what do you give him in exchange ? It may be, 
the faith of infidelity, and the hope that terminates 
in ' an eternal sleep.' Having removed the prop 
which supported him, you may launch him on the 
sea of doubt and uncertainty, to be shipwrecked 
and lost. Enlighten your brother as much as you 
will, if it will make him better, but be cautious how 
you interfere with his theological opinions, if you 
perceive in his life the fruits of holiness. Call not 
his doctrine c a soul-destroying doctrine,' if, by the 
grace of God, it renders him meek and humble, 
benevolent and devout. Call him not i a child of 
hell,' if he sets thee an example of forbearance and 
charity. Were his opinions ever so wrong, indeed, 
your enmity and bitterness would not correct them. 
Hard names and reproachful language may lead 
him to suspect the soundness of your faith, but will 
never convince him of the unsoundness of his own. 
But you view him through a distorted medium, and 
decide too hastily. Your Trinitarian brother is not 
i an idolater,' but believes in one God, and one Me- 
diator, as well as yourself. Your Unitarian brother 
is not ' an unbeliever,' but has as firm a faith in 



NOT ESSENTIAL TO PEACE. 



193 



revelation as you have. Your unscriptural, unhal- 
lowed names keep you asunder. Discard them, 
and come together, that you may know each other 
better. ' Christ is not divided,' nor should Chris- 
tians be divided. Judge with less severity; relin- 
quish your unholy prejudices ; emulate each other's 
piety, and ' love as brethren.' 

The world has had enough, — and too much, — 
of angry contention. The calm, dispassionate state- 
ment of our opinions, may do good. I will not say 
that controversy may not do good; but I am com- 
pelled to doubt its utility when I witness its bane- 
ful effects. It may sometimes elicit truth, but it 
oftener elicits anger, and truth is seldom discerned 
with clearness through the mists of passion. It 
may excite inquiry, and, on subjects which are re- 
vealed, inquiry is lawful. Inquiry is now excited 
and will go on. 

I call upon polemics to lay down the weapons of 
their warfare, and ' study the things that make for 
peace.' I call upon the ministers of religion, of 
that religion whose essence is love, to exhibit, in 
their own example, the meekness and gentleness of 
Christ, their Master. By all that is lovely and at- 
tractive in Christian charity; 'by the tender mercies 
of God,' and the compassion of the Redeemer ; by 
their regard for the interests of our holy religion ; by 
the worth of their own souls and the souls of those 
who are within the sphere of their influence ; I call 
upon them to refrain or desist from an unrighteous 
warfare with their brethren. I conjure them, as 



194 UNION OF SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS 

they conjure others, to carry forward their thoughts 
to the time, when, from the bed of death, they shall 
look back upon the troubled scene which is passing 
from before them, and forward to the rest of heaven ; 
and ask themselves how all this contention will then 
appear ? I conjure them to carry forward their 
thoughts to the time when the troubled scene of 
life will be over, and ask themselves how the notes 
of contention would mingle with the hallelujahs of 
angels and of the spirits of the just? If they are 
deaf to all the motives which urge them to cease 
from their unholy feuds, Christians will soon rise in 
their strength, and compel them. They cannot with- 
stand the force of public opinion, and the tide of 
public opinion is setting strongly in favor of peace. 
I earnestly admonish those who are coming for- 
ward to labor with us in ' the work of this ministry,' 
or to ' bear the ark of the Lord ' when our hands 
shall have become feeble, or are mouldering in the 
dust, to keep themselves free from the perverting 
influence of party combinations, and the paralyzing 
influence of human authority. Let them spurn the 
fetters which theological dogmatists, — with how- 
ever good intentions, — may be ready to put upon 
their understandings ; and assert the liberty where- 
with God and i Christ have made them free. 5 Let 
them be careful lest the opinions of the wise and 
good should give a bias to their judgment in the 
search after truth. They must answer for them- 
selves before God, for the doctrines they hold, and it 
becomes them to take heed lest these doctrines are 



NOT ESSENTIAL TO PEACE. 195 

founded in l the wisdom of man,' and ' not in the 
power of God.' A responsibility, deep and awful, 
is soon to rest upon them. By the exercise of 
their own minds in the study of God's word, and 
especially by the cultivation of a meek and lowly 
spirit, let them prepare to sustain it ; that, by the 
light of their instructions, and the light of their 
example, they may ' win souls to Christ.' 



It is in the spirit of peace, my Christian friends, 
that you have erected the temple which is now 
consecrated to the service of God. You dedicate 
it to the cause of truth and righteousness ; to the 
cause of religious freedom and free inquiry; of 
Christian peace and charity. And may the blessing 
which rested upon the second temple at Jerusalem, 
rest also here. ' In this place will I give peace, 
saith the Lord of hosts.' 



How interesting are the associations which are 
connected with this place, and this occasion ! 
Nearly two centuries ago, this spot was first con- 
secrated by the rites of religion. It was then that 
the apostolic Eliot imparted to the rude, untutored 
children of the forest, the light of Divine truth, 
and the wilderness echoed the voice of Christian 
prayer, and the songs of Christian praise. We 
revert with admiration to the wearisome pilgrim- 
ages, and the toilsome and perilous, though patient 



196 UNION OF SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS 

and persevering, labors of this holy man. Imagin- 
ation delights to go back through the lpng tract of 
time, and see him travelling on foot, with his staff 
and his Bible ; or surrounded by his Indian children ; 
with no altar but the trunk of the forest tree, and 
no canopy but the vault of heaven ; yet cheered by 
the consciousness of devotion to the best of causes, 
and by the hopes of success. We honor thy 
memory, devoted servant of the Lord Jesus ! 
Though no fruits of thy labors remain, thou hast 
erected a monument to thy praise in the hearts of 
the pious, in all times, who shall hear the story of 
thy toils and thy sufferings, and hast secured to 
thyself a portion with those, who, ' having turned 
many to righteousness, shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmanent, and as the stars, forever and 
ever.' 

You have done well, my friends, to select this 
consecrated spot, consecrated by the tears and the 
prayers of the first Protestant missionary in this 
Western world, as the place for your new house of 
worship. It is emphatically holy ground. May 
the recollections it revives, as you trace hither the 
footsteps of the pious dead, impart a holy influence ! 
May this sacred place never be desecrated by 
unhallowed passions, by hollow-hearted prayers, or 
cold and lifeless praises! May no gift be ever 
brought to this altar but in the spirit of love to 
God, and love to man ! 

This temple is erected to the service of God ; but 
God ' dwelleth not in temples made with hands.' 



NOT ESSENTIAL "TO PEACE. 197 

1 Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens can- 
not contain Him, how much less this house which 
you have builded.' ' Neither on mount Gerizim, nor 
at Jerusalem ; ' neither here, where the savage, re- 
nouncing his idolatry, bowed down before the God 
and Father of our Lord, and where, too, your 
fathers worshipped, nor elsewhere, ' shall men' exclu- 
sively ' worship the Father' ' God is a spirit, and 
they who worship Him, must worship Him in spirit 
and in truth.' He ' looketh on the heart' If there is 
really an altar there, however poor and humble the 
sacrifice that is laid upon it, fire will come down 
from heaven to kindle it, and, like the angel in the 
smoke of Manoah's sacrifice, it will ascend with 
acceptance to God. If there is really a temple 
there, however faint and feeble the sounds that are 
uttered in it, they will be audible by God. The 
aspiration of thankfulness He will hear, ' the sigh- 
ing of the contrite heart He will not despise.' 

They who first worshipped, and succeeding gen- 
erations who worshipped here, have passed away. 
There is not a remnant of the little tribe to which 
Eliot ministered. And we, too, must pass away. 
Let us not be regardless of the admonition which 
the review of the past brings home with so much 
force and solemnity to our minds! — ' Our fathers, 
where are they; and the prophets, do they live for- 
ever ? ' 

4 Behold, now is the accepted time, noiv is the 
day of salvation.' ' The awful now,' it has been 
impressively said, ' asks us but once to embrace it, 
17* 



198 UNION OF SENTIMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS, ETC. 

then turns its back upon us, and our hands are 
stretched after it in vain.' If we have not already 
resolved to be religious, let us resolve now, and if 
there be no time for the performance of religious 
duties, the resolution will be accepted and registered 
in heaven. ' Now is the day of salvation.' Is there 
any assurance that we shall have another? that 
when this day of counsels and entreaties, of promi- 
ses and threatenings, of admonitions and warnings, 
of hopes and fears, is ended, a new day of proba- 
tion will begin? Is there any assurance that we 
shall enter on a new state of preparation for heaven, 
and that, if that should be unavailing, as this may 
have been, there will be yet another, and another, 
through an indefinite extent of an interminable ex- 
istence ? I caution you not to stake on such a 
presumption the eternal interests of your immortal 
souls. It may not be so. — And where then will 
he be who has ' laid this flattering unction to his 
soul,' and thrown away, misapplied, perverted, in 
the hope of future opportunities, the only opportu- 
nity that will ever be given him ? Where will he 
be who has said, ' God will be gracious,' and has 
persevered in sinning ' that grace might abound ? ' 
Where will he be ? — I leave it to the revelations of 
eternity to reveal it. — I leave it to the unfolding of 
that scene which to us, creatures of a day, will soon 
be unfolded. — Heave it till the 'books are opened' 
and the record read and the sentence passed. — Oh 
that he may not find himself dreadfully and irre- 
trievably mistaken ! 



APPENDIX. 



The following account of Eliot, and of his missionary labors, 
will, probably, at least be interesting to those at whose request the 
foregoing sermon was preached and published. It is taken princi- 
pally from Gookin's * Historical collections of the Indians in New 
England/ and from Dr. John Eliot's biography of this distinguished 
man, chiefly from the latter, and his language is generally used. 

John Eliot, commonly called the apostle to the Indians, exhibited 
more lively traits of an extraordinary character than we find in most 
ages of the church, or in most Christian countries. He, who could 
prefer the American wilderness to the pleasant fields of Europe, was 
ready to wander through this wilderness for the sake of doing good. 
To be active was the delight of his soul ; and be went to the hovels 
which could not keep out the wind and rain, where he labored inces- 
santly among the aboriginals of America, though his popular talents 
gave him a distinction among the first divines of Massachusetts, at a 
time that the magistrate and all the people held the clergy in pecu- 
liar honor. 

He was born in England, A. D, 1604. There is nothing related of 
his parents, except that they gave him a liberal education, and were 
exemplary for their piety; — for this their memory is precious. * I do 
see,' says this excellent man, ' that it was a great favor of God to me 
that my first years were seasoned with the fear of God, the Word, and 
prayer.' 

When Mr. Eliot left the University of Cambridge, he himself be- 
came a teacher; and, while he led children and youth into the paths 
of virtue, acquired also an acquaintance with the human heart. 



200 APPENDIX. 

In the year 1631, he arrived at Boston, and the succeeding year, 
November 5th, 1632, was settled as teacher of the church in Roxbury. 
Being moved with compassion for the ignorant and degraded state of 
the Indians, he determined to devote a part of his time to their in- 
struction; and first preached to them on the 28th of October, 1646, 
' at Nonantum, near Water town mill, upon the south side of Charles 
river, where at that time, lived Waban, one of the principal men, 
and some Indians with him.' His first discourse was from Ezekiel 
xxxvih 9, Their mode of worship is thus described. After a short 
prayer, he rehearsed and explained the Ten Commandments. He 
then described the character of Christ, told them in what manner he 
appeared on earth, where he now is, and that he would again come 
to judgment, when the wicked would be punished and the good re- 
warded. He spoke of the creation and fall of man ) then persuaded 
them to repent, to pray to God, and own Christ as their Saviour. 

Within a short time after this first attempt, he instituted a lecture 
at Neponset, within the bounds of Dorchester, where another com- 
pany of Indians lived, belonging to the sachem Kuchamakin. Be- 
sides preaching, he framed two catechisms, one for children and one 
for adults, in the Indian language, which he had learned of an old 
Indian, who had been taken into his family for this purpose. In 
this language he translated the Bible, and several practical treatises, 
and composed a grammar, which is published in several editions of 
the Indian Bibles. The questions in the catechism he propounded 
on one lecture-day, to be answered the next lecture-day. His meth- 
od was * to begin with the children, who, in general, answered read- 
ily, and whom he encouraged with some small gift, as an apple, or 
a small biscuit, which he caused to be bought for that purpose.' 
' After he had done with the children, then would he take the an- 
swers of the catechetical questions of the elder persons ; and they 
did generally answer judiciously. When the catechizing was past, 
he would preach to them on some portion of Scripture for about 
three-quarters of an hour ; and then give liberty to the Indians to 
propound questions, and, in the close, finish all with prayer.' 

Among the questions proposed, at different times, by the Indians, 
were these : — Whether Jesus Christ could understand prayers in the 
Indian language ? How all the world became full of people, if they 
were all once drowned ? How the English came to differ so much 
from the Indians in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, since 



APPENDIX. 201 

they all at first had but one father ? How it came to pass that sea- 
water was salt, and river fresh ? That if the water was bigger than 
the earth, how it come to pass that it does not overflow it ? When 
the preacher had discussed these points as well as he was able, they 
expressed their satisfaction by saying, after their manner, they did 
much thank God for his coming, and for what they had heard, which 
was wonderful news to them. 

"When he began his mission, there were about seventeen or twenty 
tribes within the limits of the English planters. But these tribes 
were not large, and hardly to be distinguished ; for their manners, 
language, and religion were the same. He made a missionary tour 
every fortnight, planted a number of churches, and visited all the 
Indians in Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies. He certainly was 
the most successful missionary that ever preached the gospel to the 
Indians. His prudence and zeal, his patience, resolution, activity, 
and knowledge of mankind, were equally conspicuous. Many have 
done worthily in this benevolent work ; but, if we unite an apt 
method of applying the truths of Christianity to the minds of the 
heathen, with the success of his labors, he far excelled them all. 
He likewise claims a very peculiar character, as being the first Prot- 
estant minister, who diffused the means of evangelical truth among 
the wild nations of this benighted part of the globe. The tribes that 
roamed through the deserts became dear to him, like his own people, 
and he often forsook the charms of civilized and cultivated society 
to reside with men, who were not only unacquainted with every thing 
called urbanity, but who wanted comfortable means of subsistence; 
with whom he would associate days and weeks, to instruct them in 
Divine things and also acquaint them how they could improve their 
condition upon the earth. Though in general well received and 
treated with kindness, he sometimes met with opposition, especially 
from the sachems, and the powows, who were their physicians, and 
pretended to skill in magic. When threatened by them, his answer 
was, ■ I am about the work of the great God, and He is with me, so 
that I fear not all the sachems in the country. I'll go on, and do you 
touch me if you dare.' 

As to his moral and Christian character, it was as exemplary as 
his ministerial qualifications were excellent. His mind was governed 
by a sense of duty, and not a mere ease and complacency of humor, 
which makes a man good-natured when he is pleased, and patient 
when he has nothing to vex him. He brought his religion into all 



202 APPENDIX. 

his actions. He habitually lifted up his heart for a blessing upon 
every person whom h§ met, and when he went into a family, he 
would sometimes call the youth to him, that he might lay his 
hands upon them, and give them his benediction. A stranger to 
artifice and deceit, he disliked the appearance of them in others. 
He felt equal obligations to perform the duties of piety, virtue and 
benevolence. Such was the man. He clothed himself with humil- 
ity as with a robe. Literally speaking, he wore a leathern girdle 
about his loins. Perhaps this might show too strong a prejudice 
against dress ; but all his actions discovered a temper free from van- 
ity, and a desire to be humble, rather than to gain the praise of men. 
He was very temperate ; one dish was his homely repast. When he 
dined abroad, he would not indulge himself in the luxuries of the 
table. He drank water, and said of wine, ' it is a noble, generous 
liquor, and we should be humbly thankful for it, but, as I remember, 
water was made before it.' His maintenance was a free contribu- 
tion, or raised upon pews, and the people of Roxbury cheerfully 
supported two ministers. It was his request, to give up his salary 
when he could no longer preach. ' I do here,' said he, * give up my 
salary to the Lord Jesus Christ ; and now, brethren, you may fix 
that upon any man that God shall make a pastor.' But the society, 
in their answer, told him, that they accounted his presence worth any 
sum granted for his support, even if he were superannuated so as to 
do no further service for them. The youth of the congregation called 
him their father and their friend, and their affection chased away the 
gloom so apt to hover round the evening of life. Such attentions 
from the rising generation, are like medicine to the spirit of a man 
sinking within him. The reflection of a life well spent, and the 
kindness of his friends, made his old age pleasant. 

In domestic life, Mr. Eliot was peculiarly happy. His lady was 
an excellent economist, and by her prudent management enabled 
him to be generous to his friends, and hospitable to strangers. It 
ought to be mentioned, to the credit of this excellent woman, that, 
with a moderate stipend and her prudence, he educated four sons 
at Cambridge, who were among the best preachers of that genera- 
tion. He gave largely from his own income to the poor, and pro- 
moted all kinds of useful distributions, especially if he could serve 
the cause of religion. When his age unfitted him for public em- 
ployment, he reflected that he did good as he had opportunity. 



APPENDIX. 203 

'Alas!' said he, *I have lost every thing. — My understanding 
leaves me, my memory fails me, but I thank God my charity holds 
out still.' So great was his charity, that his salary was often dis- 
tributed for the relief of his neighbors, so soon after the period at 
which he received it, that, before another period arrived, his own 
family were straitened for the comforts of life. One day the parish 
treasurer, on paying the money for salary due, which he put into 
a handkerchief, in order to prevent Mr. Eliot from giving away his 
money before he got home, tied the ends of the handkerchief in as 
many hard knots as he could. The good man received his handker- 
chief, and took leave of the treasurer. He immediately went to the 
house of a sick and necessitous family. On entering, he gave them 
his blessing, and told them God had sent them some relief. The 
sufferers, with tears of gratitude, welcomed their pious benefactor, 
who, with moistened eyes, began to untie the knots in his handker- 
chief. After many efforts to get at his money, and impatient at the 
perplexity and delay, he gave the handkerchief and all the money to 
the mother of the family, saying, with a trembling accent, * Here, 
my dear, take it ; I believe the Lord designs it all for you.' 

During the war with the sachem Philip, 1675, Mr. Eliot appears 
in a character very interesting to the community. The traces of war 
are blood and slaughter. The people of Massachusetts, in their 
frenzy, would have destroyed the praying Indians with the savages, 
whose feet were swift to spread destruction in every path. -Mr. 
Eliot was their advocate and friend. Being assisted by General 
Gookin, he defended their cause, and protected them from violence. 
It is no wonder, therefore, that, having shown his abilities and firm- 
ness, he acquired such an influence over the various tribes as no 
other missionary to the Indians could ever obtain. 

After living eighty-six years in this world of trial, the spirit of 
this excellent divine took its flight to a better world. For many 
years he * had his conversation in heaven j ' his faith seemed to be 
swallowed up in vision, and his hopes in fruition. He lost his 
most amiable companion two years before. He was then sick, and 
expected and longed for his own departure. Their children they 
had followed to the grave, and had comforted each other as they 
drank the bitter ingredients from the cup of adversity. On being 
asked how he could maintain so much cheerfulness under such 
afflictive bereavements, he replied, ' I had hoped that my sons would 



204 



APPENDIX. 



• 



have lived to serve God longer on earth, but as He has seen fit to 
take them to serve Him in heaven, why should I object ? ' When he 
was bending under his infirmities and could no longer visit the Indians, 
he persuaded a number of families to send their negro servants 
to him once a week, that he might instruct them in the truths of 
God. He died May 20, 1690, aged about eighty-six years, saying, 
that all his labors were poor and small, and exhorting those who 
surrounded his bed to pray. His last words were * welcome joy/ 
Such a man will be handed down to future times, an object of ad- 
miration and love ; and appear conspicuous in the historic page 
when distant ages celebrate the worthies of New England. 

The town of Natick (which signifies a place of hills) was granted 
to the Indians at the request of Mr. Eliot, and laid out in 1651. In 
1674, it had twenty-nine families. The town contained about six 
thousand acres. It is thus described by Gookin. * It consists of 
three long streets, two on the north side of the river, and one on the 
south, with house-lots to every family. There is a handsome large 
fort, of a round figure, palisaded with trees ; and a foot bridge over 
the river, in form of an arch, the foundation secured with stone. 
There is also a large house built after the English manner j the 
lower room a large hall, which serves for a meeting-house on the 
Lord's day, and a school-house on the week days. The upper room 
is a kind of wardrobe, where the Indians hang up their skins and 
other things of value. In a corner of this room Mr. Eliot has an 
apartment partitioned off, with a bed and bedstead in it.' 

Mr. Eliot was assisted by his eldest son, the minister of Newton, 
in his labors with the aborigines, and in the translation of the Scrip- 
tures. A son of Gen. Gookin, who was the minister of Sherburne, 
co-operated with him in the care of the Natick Indians in 1684, 
holding a lecture in Natick once a month. In 1721, Mr. Peabody 
came here, and in 1729 was ordained, at which time a church was 
gathered, partly of Indians and partly of English. Mr. Peabody died 
in 1752, and was succeeded by Mr. Badger, who was ordained in 
1753, and died in 1803, at the age of seventy-eight. 

On the erection of the fourth place of worship, at a distance from 
the spot on which the old church had stood, a number of the inhab- 
itants connected themselves with other religious societies in the 
neighborhood. It is for their convenience, and in consequence of the 
flourishing state of the village in which most of them reside, that a 



APPENDIX. 205 

new church has been erected the present year. A spirit of harmony 
and kindness has marked all their proceedings. May it always 
exist, and may they firmly maintain the resolution of having no 
other creed than the Bible, and no other name as denoting their 
faith, than that of Christian ! 

The services at the dedication were as follows : — 

Anthem — ■ praise God in His holiness.' 

Introductory Prayer, by Mr. Wright of E. Sudbury. 

Reading portions of Scripture, by Mr. White of Dedham. 

Hymn, written by Josiah Biglow. 

Dedicatory Prayer, by Mr. Sanger of Dover. 

Sermon, by Dr. Lowell of Boston. 

Hymn, written by William Biglow. 

Concluding Prayer, by Dr. Saunders of Medfield. 

Anthem. 

Benediction 



vol. i. 18 



SERMON XI. 



THEOLOGY AND NOT RELIGION THE CAUSE OF DIVIS- 
ION AND STRIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

[Preached at the Ordination of a Minister in Stowe, 1829.] 

1 Timothy, vi. 3, 4. — if any man teach otherwise, and consent 

NOT TO WHOLESOME WORDS, EVEN THE WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS 
CHRIST, AND THE DOCTRINE ACCORDING TO GODLINESS, HE IS PROUD, 
KNOWING NOTHING, BUT DOTING ABOUT QUESTIONS AND STRIFES 
OF WORDS, WHEREOF COMETH ENVY, STRIFE, RAILINGS, AND EVIL 
SURMISINGS. 

Such, — as is expressed in the last clause of the 
text, — was the effect in the days of the apostle, — 
and such has been the effect in every subsequent 
period, — of a departure from the words of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and an inattention to the fact that his 
doctrine is simply c a doctrine which is according to 
godliness.' Not satisfied with what is revealed, — 
with the plain, intelligible truths of the Bible, — 
men have been disposed to exercise their ingenuity, 
or indulge their fancy, on subjects that were ob- 
scure, or left wholly in darkness. The abstract 



THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE, ETC. 207 

nature of the Godhead, the Divine decrees, the in- 
gredients of future happiness and future misery, and 
various other topics, on which it hath not pleased 
God to give us precise information, have too much 
occupied, and do still too much occupy, the minds 
of men, to the neglect of those truths which it most 
concerns them to know. There is still, as there has 
always been, ' a doting about questions, and strifes 
of words,' and the consequence is, as it always has 
been, 'envy and strife and railings and evil sur- 
misings.' 

All the revelations of God's works and "Word, and 
all the dispensations of His providence, have one 
end, and one only, — the moral improvement of his 
intelligent creatures. 

It is true that in the works of nature there is 
much that seems to be addressed only to the intel- 
lectual part of man, and much that appears only 
designed to gratify his senses. A wide field is 
opened before him, in which he may 'expatiate 
free,' and find, at every step, new stores of know- 
ledge, and new sources of enjoyment. But in all 
the provision that is made for the gratification of 
sense and intellect, there is a higher end than is 
answered by this gratification. There is reference 
to man as a moral and immortal being. The ulti- 
timate design of all that God has done in the works 
of nature to make us wiser and happier, is to make 
us better. 

And so it is with His providence. Be our con- 
dition prosperous or adverse, adapted to make us 



208 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

joyful, or to make us sorrowful, the ultimate object 
is the same. God is infinitely happy because He 
is infinitely good. He desires that His creatures, 
like himself, should be happy, but they cannot 
resemble Him in His happiness unless they resem- 
ble Him in His goodness. 

We come to the Scriptures, — the appropriate 
theme of our discourse, — and here the same design 
is apparent as in the other revelations of God. 
There was but one object in the mission of Jesus 
Christ; there is but one object in the doctrines and 
precepts of the gospel. This object is holiness, — 
the advancement of the moral perfection of man- 
kind. If Christ gave himself for us, as he surely 
did, it was that he might c redeem us from all in- 
iquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works.' If he ' spake as never man 
spake,' it was because he taught a purer and holier 
doctrine than the tongue of man had uttered, or the 
heart of man conceived. Man had wandered from 
the path of duty, and was lost in the devious, intri- 
cate paths of transgression. God sent His Son ' to 
seek and to save him ; ' to bring him back from his 
wanderings ; to reclaim him from disobedience and 
misery, to duty and happiness. 

There is a distinction, as it appears to me, be- 
tween theology and religion, an attention to which 
would go far, I am persuaded, towards healing the 
divisions which have disgraced the Christian church. 
In its most extensive sense, religion includes theol- 
ogy, in as far as theology relates to the being and 



DIVISION AND STRIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 209 

attributes of God, to His government and will, — 
this is moral theology ; but there is a speculative the- 
ology, and a scholastic theology, whose technics are 
not to be found in the Bible, and have little ref- 
erence to the great purpose for which the Bible was 
given us. 

Religion is an internal principle. It has its seat 
in the heart, and from thence sends forth the life- 
blood through the whole moral frame. It is found 
in the wise and the simple, in the learned and the 
unlearned. Theology, in its strictest sense, is a 
science. It is founded, as every science must be, 
on clear, certain, self-evident principles. Specula- 
tive theology is, — I know not what. It is one 
thing with one man, and another thing with another 
man; and sometimes a very strange, unnatural, 
distorted thing it is. 

Religion, in its proper sense, can be productive 
of no mischief, but is fitted to be the instrument of 
great good. In its primitive sense, it implies a 
bond of union ; it binds us to God and to one an- 
other; it is a solemn obligation to obedience; — it 
is godliness, or piety, and consists in the practice 
of duty to God and to man. Such is the religion 
of the Scriptures, and the only one in which we 
have any real concern. But theology, as distin- 
guished from this, as consisting in speculation about 
dogmas and points of ' doubtful disputation,' has 
been productive of much mischief in every age of 
the church. It has not bound men together, but 
divided them. It has called off the attention, in too 
18* 



210 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

many cases from the principal objects of religion, 
and fixed it upon the anise, mint, and cumin, the 
things of trifling importance, which might ' engender 
strife,' but could not ' edify.' In as far as men are 
theologians in this sense, they are no better, but 
rather the worse for their theology. They have the 
' knowledge ' which ' puffeth up,' but not always 
' the charity ' that ' edifieth ; ' and if they are desti- 
tute of this, however much they may know, they 
know nothing yet as they ought to know it. 

Charity is religion. It is the whole of religion. 
Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be 
taken from it without subtracting thus much from 
the religious character. When exercised towards 
God, it is piety, and prompts to all the duties which 
piety includes ; to the cultivation of devout affec- 
tions, and to the display of these affections in pri- 
vate and public acts of devotion. When exercised 
towards man, it is justice and benevolence, and 
prompts to all the duties which these include. It 
does justly, giving to all their due ; ' tribute to whom 
tribute, honor to whom honor,' respecting the rights 
of all, and claiming no more than fairly belongs to 
it. It loves mercy, is kind and sympathizing, alle- 
viating, as it is able, the sufferings of humanity. It 
is an angel of compassion, whose wings are always 
extended to shelter the defenceless, ever employed 
in doing good, and finding its own happiness in 
making others happy. 

We see, then, wiiy our Saviour included the 
whole law in these two commandments, i Thou 



DIVISION AND STRIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 211 

shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
thy neighbor as thyself;' and why his apostles 
describe ' love as the fulfilling of the law and the 
end of commandment.' Reflect a moment, my 
hearers, and you will perceive, I think, that I was 
not mistaken in saying that charity, or love, was the 
whole of religion. Under the head of love to God, 
or love to man, you will find every duty which has 
reference to your Creator, to your fellow-creatures, 
and, I may add, to yourselves. 

Now, speculative theology has done little, if any- 
thing, towards promoting this charity, and much 
— perhaps more than every thing else — towards 
checking its growth and impairing its influence. It 
has erected walls of separation. It has opened the 
floodgates, and let out the bitter waters of conten- 
tion which have mingled with the pure, refreshing, 
fertilizing streams of Divine truth, and often dyed 
them with blood. I tremble when I witness the 
presumption of men, dogmatizing about things of 
which they know nothing and can know nothing 
with certainty ; attempting to withdraw the veil (or 
affecting to have withdrawn it) which Infinite Wis- 
dom has seen fit to interpose between our feeble 
sight and the nature of His Essence, or the opera- 
tions and results of His government. I mourn that 
good men should so often misspend their time, and 
lose their good temper, in teaching men to ' bite and 
devour one another,' when they might be so much 
better employed in teaching their fellow-christians 
to bring their passions ' into subjection to the law 



212 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

of Christ,' and in learning, at the same time, more 
effectually to subdue their own. 

Sad is it when those publications which are the 
organs of ' religious parties,' become the vehicles of 
crimination and recrimination, descend to bitter 
invective, or unkind insinuation, when a spirit is 
manifested most foreign to the mild spirit of the 
gospel, and language used which would be far from 
honorable on the arena of political warfare, and 
would not be tolerated in the intercourse of private 
life. "We may well address to those who conduct 
them the rebuke which their Master addressed to 
his first disciples when they were for calling down 
fire from heaven upon a city of the Samaritans, — 
' Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.' 
No. They are men, encompassed with infirmities, 
like others, and doubtless believe themselves to be 
'zealously affected in a good thing.' The zeal 
which they discover, they imagine to be a zeal for 
God and truth, when it is a zeal for their own theo- 
ries, which they have magnified far beyond their 
just proportions ; which may be true, or may be false, 
but have little or no influence in promoting the 
great end of Christianity. 

That end, I repeat, — and I would it could be 
sounded in the ears of theological combatants till 
they were compelled to yield their attention to it, — 
that end is godliness, and it is the losing sight of 
this, that gives rise to the ' strife and railing ' of 
which the apostle speaks. Were this end kept 
steadily in view, there would be no contention but 



DIVISION AND STRIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 213 

who should best answer it. It is absurd to say that 
a contentious spirit can exist when there is a sin- 
cere, heartfelt conviction of this fact, and a para- 
mount desire to promote its exemplification in 
ourselves and others. 

There has been much misconception, I am per- 
suaded, and consequent misrepresentation, of the 
opinions of those who have taken a stand against 
controversy, but I will not retort, in their behalf, 
the charges of want of discrimination, and the tak- 
ing but a superficial, contracted view of the subject, 
or of ignorance and timidity, which have been so 
lavishly bestowed. If I am not mistaken, there has 
been no opposition to controversy but when it has 
been employed about theological dogmas, or when 
it has degenerated into contention and strife. 

Such is the controversy of the present day, which 
is not a controversy about religion, but theology, 
— speculative theology; not about what the Bible 
has really taught, but about the various, contradic- 
tory doctrines which it has been said to teach. It 
is a controversy about terms, or opinions as opposite 
to one another as light and darkness, about systems 
and theories, which system-mongers and theorists 
have framed out of something w^hich has been said, 
or has not been said in the word of God. And 
what has been the effect of this controversy ? I 
speak of the controversies of the present day ; I do 
not ask you to go back and contemplate the mourn- 
ful tragedies which have been enacted by controver- 
sialists in the times that have gone by. Open 



214 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

your eyes, my hearers, and look at the page of 
church history which is spread out before you. 
What heart-burnings, divisions, evil surmisings, rail- 
ings, bitter contentions does it not exhibit! — in 
families, and churches, and parishes, and towns. 
How many churches, once united and flourishing, 
have been rent asunder and their dismembered parts 
scattered by the wind, — I might in most cases say 
by every wind of theological doctrine I — If the 
seamless coat of Christ had been woven by the 
hand of man, it would long since have been torn in 
pieces by those who have claimed it as their exclu- 
sive property, or have contended about its color, or 
texture, or the materials of which it is made. What 
a melancholy aspect does this Commonwealth ex- 
hibit, in this particular, compared with what it once 
did, to a religious observer who loves peace, and 
believes that the religion of Christ was designed to 
promote it! 

But, I am triumphantly asked, if it be admitted 
that controversy has disturbed the repose of the 
church, has it not excited an activity which has 
promoted its life and vigor ? If it has troubled the 
waters, has it not brought up and mingled with 
them ingredients which have imparted salutary and 
healthful qualities ? I answer, — not in triumph, 
but in deep sorrow, — no; at least such has not 
been its tendency. It has rendered them the waters 
of strife, and not of healing. It has led to an in- 
creased attention to theology, but not religion. If 
it has promoted the searching of the Scriptures, it 



DIVISION AND STRIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 215 

has not been, in most cases, in a manner adapted 
either to elicit the light of truth, or the genial 
warmth of Christian charity. Whatever of moral 
good has been the effect, has resulted, not from the 
controversy, but from the piety that has often been 
mingled with it, which would have appeared to 
better advantage and exerted a better influence if 
it had been found in better company. If places 
of worship have been multiplied, with what spirit, 
— when it has been the effect of controversy, — 
have they been erected, and what spirit do they 
diffuse? 

Now let us suppose, my friends, that the same 
talents and learning which have been expended in 
the service of controversy, had been devoted, with 
equal labor and zeal, to the cause of vital religion ; 
I ask you whether effects incalculably more bene- 
ficial would not have been produced ? I ask you 
whether there would not have been a more diligent 
searching of the Scriptures, with a less prejudiced 
spirit, and a less misguided intention? I ask 
whether there would not have been a purer and not 
less earnest zeal for the house of God ? I ask, — 
if there had not been more talk about religion, — 
whether there would not have been more religious 
conversation ? For what is the religious conversa- 
tion, as it is falsely termed, which you hear, on all 
sides ? Do we hear the anxious inquiry, i What shall 
we do to be saved V — i How shall we acquire that 
temper and form those habits which will fit us for 
heaven ? ' On the contrary, are not the changes of 



216 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

party continually ringing in our ears, points of 
6 doubtful disputation'? We hear of Unitarianism 
and Trinitarian ism, Orthodoxy and liberality, till we 
are sick of the very names. These may indeed be 
said to be ordinary topics of conversation, for they 
mingle themselves with the current and lose their 
distinctive religious character, if they ever had any. 
They come in to supply the lack of public or do- 
mestic intelligence, or they come in to serve as the 
vehicle of uncharitable censure or harsh recrimina- 
tion. They alternate with the concerns of the nation, 
and the concerns of the state ; with the business of 
the exchange and of the farm and the workshop ; 
with the amusements of the theatre and the ball 
room. The name of the high and holy God, before 
whom angels veil their faces and adore, and of His 
Son Jesus Christ, the c brightness of His glory and 
the express image of His person,' are too often in- 
troduced with the same familiarity as the names of 
frail, sinful mortals, like ourselves; and subjects of 
religion are discussed in the same spirit as the poli- 
tics and news of the day. Nor is conversation about 
religion, even when conducted with seriousness, 
always less exceptionable in its character. Allu- 
sions, or distinct reference to the opinions of others, 
with a view to condemn, not the opinions them- 
selves, but those who hold them ; attributing to 
others opinions which it is by no means certain they 
entertain ; accusing others of a want of vital re- 
ligion because their opinions are deemed errone- 
ous; — such conversation is very far from being 



DIVISION ETC. IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 217 

■ 

religious conversation, though wearing the guise 
of religion. 

And here I would freely acknowledge that minis- 
ters as well as people, — yea, ministers much more 
than people, — for much of the sin must be laid at 
their door, — have reason to humble themselves that 
they have often exhibited so poor an example of 
that forbearance and charity which are essential to 
the Christian character. They ought to be ' exam- 
ples to the believers in word, in conversation, in 
" charity" as well as " in faith and purity." ' And if 
we are not, my hearers, we have only to exhort you 
not to follow our example, but the example of him 
whose instructions were a lesson of charity, and 
who lived as he taught. It would be well for 
ministers, who utter anathemas, to learn better 
even from the reply of a heathen priestess to the 
magistrates of Athens when commanded to anath- 
ematize an eminent Athenian. c You require of 
me to curse Alcibiades, but I must tell you it is 
inconsistent with my office, which allows me only 
to bless and pray.' 

It has been said that a kinder and less rancorous 
spirit is beginning to prevail in the theological 
world. I wish it may be so. I would have the 
peace and union of the times to which I have 
adverted, with a warmth and an engagedness for 
a real and rational revival of religion which per- 
haps did not then exist. 

But has not the cause of truth, on the whole, 
been advanced by this controversy ? Let us see 

VOL. II. 19 



218 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

• 

whether this question can be settled by a resort to 
the controversialists themselves ? Ask the Calvinist 
and what is his reply ? c Undoubtedly ! — Error 
has been dragged out from its lurking places, and 
is in a fair way to be hunted down. It had worn 
the lovely form of orthodoxy, but has been stripped 
of its disguise and shown in all its native hideous- 
ness. " The faith once delivered to the saints " is 
triumphing over all opposition. Orthodox churches 
have increased fourfold, and are increasing daily.' 
Put the same question to the Unitarian, and what 
does he say ? ' Most certainly ! " The blood of 
the martyrs " has always been " the seed of the 
church." The sect everywhere spoken against will 
soon be predominant ; Unitarian churches are mul- 
tiplying so fast, it is impossible to find ministers 
to supply them.' Send forth your inquiries through 
various sects, and you will meet with the same 
hearty response. And which must we believe ? — 
If it be asked, amidst the dogmas of these various 
sects, : — and a multitude of others which time would 
fail me to mention, — ' What is truth ? ' I answer, 
not the technics, or the peculiar dogmas of either, 
but whatever of piety, — I might say of Christian 
charity, or love, — is found among them all. Re- 
ligious truth has been promoted by controversy so 
far as this has been promoted, and no farther. This 
is the great doctrine of the Bible, and this is a doc- 
trine about which, among the pious, there is no 
dispute. There is no contest about humility, or 
meekness, or benevolence, or devotion, or any of 






DIVISION ETC. IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 219 

the constituents of piety. How far any of these, — 
humility and meekness, for example, — have been 
promoted by controversy, I leave it for the contro- 
versalists to settle among themselves. 

Still it may be asked, ' Are there not doctrines in 
the Bible which have an important influence in pro- 
moting piety ? ' Undoubtedly ; — but what are they ? 
— What a multitude of discordant voices are lifted 
up in reply ! —What a din of conflicting opinions ! — 
' Lo here ! ' and 'lo there ! ' If I may hope to be 
heard, I will answer the question then myself. 
They are those which he who goes to his Bible 
with a sincere desire ' to do the will of God ' will 
there. What these are, every such inquirer must 
answer for himself. 

f But is not the more elevated tone of morals, the 
change for the better in many of the habits of the 
community, owing in a good measure to the excite- 
ment which controversy has produced ? • No. It is 
owing to the progress of refinement ; to the advance- 
ment of knowledge ; to the better means of education 
and the more general use of them ; to the alteration 
in the mode of intercourse between the elder and 
younger members of society, — especially between 
parents and children ; — as well as to the blessing of 
God upon the efforts of the pious; and not to 
1 doubtful disputation.' 

But it is said, that, in opposing controversy, we 
oppose Christianity, for Christianity was a contro- 
versy; weoppose the Reformation, for the Refor- 
mation was a controversy. If I mistake not, I have 



220 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

already furnished a reply to this assertion in the 
remarks I have made. If Christianity and the 
Reformation were controversies, if it be not a per- 
version of these hallowed names to give them this 
designation, as it is now understood, they were 
controversies with superstition and vice, and there- 
fore controversies of a very different description 
from those with which we are now concerned. 
The doctrine of the Reformation, — whatever its 
practice, — was the sufficiency of the Scriptures and 
the right which every man had to search and under- 
stand them for himself. I leave it to you to decide, 
my hearers, whether the friends or the foes of con- 
troversy are acting most consistently with the prin- 
ciples of the reformers ? Who is it that impugns, 
virtually, if not intentionally, the sufficiency of the 
Scriptures, and interferes with the right of free, 
unshackled inquiry ? Is it, or is it not, the theo- 
logical domatist * who insists on the reception of his 
views of religion as the only indication of an en- 
lightened mind, or of a sanctified heart ? 

After all, for myself, I have no contention with 
theological controversy, as such. It is only when 
it identifies itself with religion, and assumes to be 
lawfully contending under the banners of the cross, 
that I lift my voice against it. It is when it would 
encumber David with the armor of Saul, instead 
of allowing him to go forth in his own simple garb 
to smite the Philistine with his sling and his stone- 

* In using this term I use it technically, and not reproachfully. 



DIVISION ETC. IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 221 

It is when it comes into the church, and kindles 
its ' strange fire ' upon the altar, and obscures by its 
smoke the pure and brilliant flame of Divine truth 
which is burning there. Let them call it theology, 
or metaphysics, or what they will, and they may 
dispute about it as long as they please, being care- 
ful only that, in their zeal for their theology, they 
do not lose their religion* If any one thinks that 
the doctrines he holds in speculative theology, or 
in any of the sciences, are well adapted to promote 
piety, he may recommend them to others by the 
force of argument and the power of moral suasion, 
and if he insists on calling this controversy, be it 
so, — I will not quarrel with him about words. Let 
him do it, however, with meekness, not denouncing 
those who differ from him as foolish or reprobate ; 
and let him not be sanguine of the reception of his 
opinions, or of their permanence if received. The 
history of the church will tell him that one set of 
theological opinions has prevailed in one age, and 
another set of theological opinions in another age ; 
and again, that old ones have been revived, and 
new ones given place to them. So it has been, 
and so it will be, ' pope against pope,' and i council 
against council,' * till popes and ' councils shall 
learn, — if they ever will learn, — that ' the kingdom 
of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the 
Holy Ghost.' 

It is hard that religion should bear the odium of 

19* * Chillingworth. 



222 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

causing divisions, when its spirit is as gentle as the 
spirit of its author, and its doctrines as clear as if 
written with a sunbeam, so that i he who runs may 
read, and wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err 
therein. 5 * No ! religion has never been the cause of 
division in the church, and never can be. It was 
this which was announced with the proclamation of 
' peace on earth and good will towards men ; ' and it 
was this which was breathed in the parting accents 
of the Saviour, — i Peace I leave with you, my 
peace I give unto you. 5 Wherever it comes, it 
brings a blessing, and not a curse.- In every age, 
and in all circumstances, it has imparted 4 a peace 
which the world could not give.' It has been the 
pole-star amidst the darkness of the night to guide 
the doubtful voyager on the ocean of life. It has 
been the light amidst the raging of the billows, and 
the perils of a dangerous coast, to direct to a secure 
and peaceful haven. It has been the rainbow in the 
cloud, foretelling that the storm was passing; — 
the harbinger of a serene and cloudless sky. 

The young have felt its power and enjoyed its 
consolations, and amidst the afflictions from which 
even early life is not exempt, have experienced, in 
this sense, the truth of the prophet's declaration, — 



* Isaiah, xxxv. 8. I beg the attention of the reader to this verse. 
It is supposed to refer to the Gospel. « And a highway shall be 
there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness, — and 
wayfaring men/ &c. I do not know that I could desire a better 
illustration of the doctrine of this discourse ; there are many such 
both in the Old and New Testaments. 



DIVISION, ETC. IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 223 

' It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his 
youth.' Mature age has felt its power and enjoyed 
its consolations ; find, amidst the toils and anxieties 
of active life, has turned to it from 'the heat and 
burden of the day,' as to ' the shadow of a great 
rock in a weary land.' The aged have felt its power 
and enjoyed its consolations, sustaining them under 
the infirmities of old age, and enabling them to 
wait, with serenity and cheerfulness, ' all the days 
of their appointed time till their change come.' The 
dying, at every period of life, have felt its power 
and enjoyed its consolations, inspiring them with a 
hope which has been ' an anchor of the soul, enter- 
ing within the vail,' and giving them a foretaste of 
heavenly joy. 

I congratulate you, my brother, that you enter on 
the ministry under circumstances so felicitous ; with 
so much unanimity on the part of those who have 
called you to take the pastoral charge of them, and 
in a place where the harmony has never been dis- 
turbed by the harsh, discordant notes of theological 
controversy. I congratulate you, — but I remind 
you that the peculiarity of these circumstances im- 
poses on you a peculiar responsibleness. You will 
have need of much wisdom and prudence to pre- 
serve this unanimity ; and of much decision and 
firmness to resist the attempts of the zealous of all 
parties to disturb this harmony. If you would keep 
peace, labor to diffuse among your people the spirit 
of genuine piety, — to make them religious. If you 



224 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

would promote alienation and discord, labor to 
imbue them with the spirit of controversy, — to 
make them theologians. If you would keep peace, 
teach them to study their Bibles ; if you would 
promote alienation and discord, direct them to the 
fallible interpretations of fallible men. 

If you find among your people a Calvinist who is 
humble, charitable, devout ; or a humble, charitable, 
devout Unitarian, be not so anxious to convert him 
to your theology, if it differs from his, as to encour- 
age him to ' go on unto perfection,' cultivating more 
and more diligently i the mind that was in Christ,' 
and laboring to ' grow in grace and in the know- 
ledge of his Lord and Saviour.' It may be, if you 
change his mode of faith, that you will destroy his 
charity, or cast him, without a helm, upon the sea of 
doubt, to make ' shipwreck of faith and a good con- 
science.' It may be that his mode of faith may be 
best adapted to promote piety in him, and that it 
was in the mercy of God that he was allowed to 
embrace it. 

I know you will be told that you must indoctrin- 
ate your people with your own theological system 
in self-defence. This language is unbecoming 
Christians. You are ' set for the defence of the 
words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine 
according to godliness,' and the best way you can 
defend it is to promote its growth and strength and 
efficacy in yourself and others. The most certain 
means of effecting this are the study of the Scrip- 
tures, devout meditation, watchfulness and prayer. 



DIVISION, ETC. IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 225 

So sure, — hear the warning voice, not of superior 
sagacity, but of superior experience ; — so sure as 
you disseminate among your people the writings of 
controversialists, so surely will you awakfcn among 
them a spirit of inquiry respecting things of minor 
importance, which you can neither restrain* nor 
direct ; and perhaps you would not think me un- 
kind, if, in the frankness of my heart, I should utter 
the wish, which my regard for your welfare, as well 
as theirs, would lead me to form, that they would 
have the wisdom not to read them. 

But I have no fear of this. It is my conviction 
that you will go 'forth among this people with the 
single desire of promoting their spiritual improve- 
ment, — ' of winning them to Christ.' I am per- 
suaded, — God, who knoweth the heart, only knows ! 
I am persuaded that you will ' study the things that 
make for peace,' and that in public and private, ' in 
season and out of season,' in the house and by the 
way, you will diligently sow the seeds of Divine 
truth, and ' watch for souls as one who must give 
an account.' 

It is your privilege to be allowed to avail your- 
self of the experience of your aged predecessor, who 
retires from a peaceful ministry of more than fifty 
years. I need not enjoin, what your own heart 
will prompt, that you should do what you may 
to smooth the path of his declining life by your 
respectful and affectionate attentions. 

Go then, my brother, with a humble sense of 
your own weakness and insufficiency, and a hum- 



226 THEOLOGY, NOT RELIGION, THE CAUSE OF 

ble, yet firm reliance on superior strength ; with a 
deep conviction of the infinite importance of fidelity 
and earnest prayer that you may have grace to be 
faithful, — go, and take the charge of these immortal 
beings. Teach them to love God and to love one 
another. Tell them to ' mark them which cause 
divisions, and avoid them.' Tell them to beware 
that they do not lose the experience they now have 
4 how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to 
dwell together in unity.' Tell them that ' God is 
love] and that ' he who dwelleth in love, dwelleth in 
God and God in him.' And may the presence and 
blessing of God go with you ! May your life, if it 
be best for you, be as long as the life of your pre- 
decessor. May you come to the grave ripe in years 
and in Christian graces, and receive the reward of 
fidelity in the kingdom of God. 

The Lord keep and bless you. The Lord 
make His face to shine upon you and be gracious 
unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance 
upon you and give you peace. 



DIVISION, ETC. IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 227 



SERVICES AT THE ORDINATION. 

Introductory Prayer and Selections from Scripture, by Mr. Robin- 
son of Groton. 

Sermon, by Dr. Lowell of Boston. 

Ordaining Prayer, by Dr. Ripley of Concord. 

Charge, by Mr. Newell, the Senior Pastor. 

Right Hand of Fellowship, by Mr. Emerson of Boston. 

Address to the Society, by Dr. Harris of Dorchester. 

Concluding Prayer, by Mr. White of Littleton. 

The musical performances consisted of an anthem and two original 
hymns. 



The town of Stow was settled in 1653, by two adventurers from 
Charles town, Kettle and Boon, on lands known by their names to 
this day. It was incorporated May 16, 1683. In 1686, the first 
church was erected and a house for the minister. In 1700, Rev. 
John Eveleth, a graduate of Harvard, was ordained minister, and 
continued about seventeen years. In 1713, the second house of wor- 
ship was built. Rev. John Gardner, a native of Charlestown, and a 
graduate of Harvard, was ordained Nov. 18, 1718, and died Jan. 10, 
1775. In 1752, the population having increased to 620, the third 
house of worship was built, and in 1827 the present, neat, classical 
and commodious edifice was erected by the liberality and enterprise 
of the present inhabitants. The Rev. Jonathan Newell, a native of 
Needham, and a graduate of Harvard, was ordained colleague with 
Mr. Gardner, October 11, 1774. Mr. Sibley, a native of Union, 
Maine, and a graduate of Harvard College, was associated with Mr. 
Newell, May 14, 1829. 



NOTE. 

Taken from a Note to a Review in the Christian Examiner, July, 
1831, of ' Vue sur le Protestantisme en France, per P. L. S. Vincent, 
l'un des pasteurs de l'eglise reformee de Nismes, 2nd vol. Paris. 
1829.' 

* The distinction between theology and religion, which M. Vincent 
here maintains, will remind many of our readers of the views pre- 
sented in "A Discourse, entitled Theology and not Religion, the 
source of Division in the Christian Church," by the Rev. Dr. Lowell, 
of this city. We think the coincidence remarkable. The distinction 
has been very generally overlooked. But in the work before us, and 
in the discourse to which we refer, written nearly at the same time 
in different countries, it is clearly stated and earnestly defended. 
Both writers agree in not condemning theological controversy as 
such ; they only protest against confounding it with the religion of 
the heart. We have no doubt of the correctness of their views in 
this respect. We are convinced that their general prevalence would 
be highly favorable to the progress of an improved theology, which 
is a favorite object of M. Vincent, as well as the increase of vital and 
practical religion, which is equally a favorite object with him and 
the author of the discourse.' 

The author of the foregoing Ordination Sermon had never seen or 
heard of the work of M. Vincent, or any sentiment in it, before he 
wrote this discourse, if it then existed. This Sermon was printed in 
the spring of 1829, the same year in which M. Vincent's work was 
published in France, and probably had precedence of it. 



SERMON XII. 



THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 

[A New Year's Discourse, at the end of twenty-five years from the settlement of 
the author, 1831.] 

1 John ii. 17. — the world passeth away. 

A few hours only are gone since we entered on 
a new year. Yesterday all was joy and congratu- 
lation. Children hastened to greet their parents 
with the salutations of the season ; and parents, 
with full, but anxious hearts, responded to the 
greeting. Kind wishes were heard from every quar- 
ter. They were uttered by the sober and the gay ; 
— in the careless language of thoughtlessness, and 
in the earnest language of sincerity. The coldest 
heart was warmed. 

To-day is the Christian Sabbath. You come 
hither to have the subject of yesterday's congratula- 
tions repeated, — and you will not be disappointed. 
The wish of yesterday, that the new year might be 
a happy one, is the wish of to-day. The language 



230 THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 

that was then uttered by the fire-side, in the streets 
and on the exchange, may be uttered in the house 
of God. 

But the Christian Sabbath is a day for serious 
recollection and sober thought ; and the wish that 
was heard in the ordinary scenes of life, assumes a 
graver character and a tone of deeper and more 
solemn feeling, when it is breathed in this place. 
To congratulate you merely on the return of a new 
year, would neither become my profession, nor the 
relation T bear to you. It is but one day in seven 
that is devoted to the public service of God, and 
nothing should mingle with that service which is 
not promotive of spiritual improvement. It is but 
one Sabbath in the year, that, in the journey of life, 
we stand on the eminence on which we now stand, 
with an opportunity so favorable for pointing you 
back to the years which have gone by, and forward 
to those which may be yet in store for you. 

The voice of religious congratulation is a moni- 
tory one, and it is in unison, if I mistake not, with 
the sentiments of every reflecting mind. It is true 
that we have arrived at the beginning of a new 
year, — but it is also true that another year of life 
is gone. If a new year has begun its course, the 
days of the old year are numbered and finished. 
Though dead, they yet speak, and, uniting their 
voice with the year that is begun, they teach the 
lesson of the text, — the instability and inconstancy 
of earthly things. It is the voice of God. Nature, 
with its unnumbered tongues, re-echoes it. Day 



THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 231 

utters it to day, and night to night. The barren 
fields and leafless trees repeat it. Everywhere, 
and in everything, it speaks to us. Memory hears 
it in the past, imagination in the future. It is told 
in the knell of the departing year. It is told by the 
yet voiceless year that is to come. 

1 The world passeth away ; ' — its state and condi- 
tion; its manners and customs; its pomp and 
beauty; its enjoyments and business and cares; — 
everything that employs the desires and projects of 
its inhabitants. — The gay appearances of the world 
are constantly changing. Every day they assume 
a new form, showing us how unstable and deceitful 
they are, — that they are dreams and shadows. 

One generation, active in business, eager after 
enjoyment, displays itself, for a while, on the stage 
and vanishes. Another succeeds, acts over again 
the same part in the drama of life, and, like the 
preceding, departs, and is no more seen. As we call 
up the visions of the past, what a multitude of unsub- 
stantial, shadowy forms, are dimly descried in the 
long — long distance! — And such as these shadowy 
forms appear to us, shall we, my hearers, appear to 
those who come after us. They, too, shall call up 
the vision of the past, and we, who are now acting 
our part on the stage of life, shall come, in that 
vision, with those who have been. We shall come 
to the domestic circle which we have once glad- 
dened, or saddened, by our presence. We shall 
come to the musings of affection, in its solitary 
hour, in sweet or bitter recollection. We shall 



232 THE WORLD PASSETII AWAY. 

come to the house of Gop, as the new year comes 
round, and the thoughts go back to the years that 
went before. We shall come, as bright examples, 
shedding a clear and steady light on the path of 
duty; or, as awful warnings, casting a gloomy 
shade upon the way we have trod. Yes, my hear- 
ers, the time is coming when nothing but the mem- 
ory of our characters shall remain of us. The time 
is coming, perhaps, when even that remembrance 
will be lost, — when our memory shall have per- 
ished, and in the visions of the past, no eye of 
affection will seek us out ; — when we shall be un- 
distinguished in the crowd. ' The world passeth 
away.' The world itself, when all its airy forms are 
dissipated, will give place to a i new heavens, and 
a new earth, wherein dweileth righteousness.' 

It is to such sentiments, it is to a deep and 
melancholy feeling of the instability and incon- 
stancy of earthly things, and to the contemplation 
of a world where there is no change, that I am led 
by the interesting period at which we are now ar- 
rived. Interesting to all, — peculiarly interesting to 
me, for a quarter of a century is completed since, in 
the house which occupied the spot on which this 
church is erected, I stood to be invested with the 
sacred office. It would be unbecoming, if it were 
possible, for me to give vent to the feelings which 
fill my breast on this occasion. I would rather, in 
silence and solitude, bow my spirit in humble ado- 
ration, and unfeigned humility, before God. 

In the freshness of youth, and, as I trust, with a 



THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 233 

sincere purpose of fidelity, I came to this work. 
The freshness of youth is gone, and I may lament, 
though I may not proclaim, how much of good I 
had purposed which I have not done. 

For a series of years from the commencement of 
my ministry, in consequence of the advanced age of 
some of my brethren, and the infirmities of others, a 
large portion of the duty which peculiarly belonged 
to no one, devolved upon me. The encroachment 
upon my more appropriate duties was not inconsid- 
erable. But, if it brought with it evils, I trust it 
brought with it also some lessons of wisdom and- 
experience, which have not been without their use 
to myself and to you. 

When I came here, our churches were at peace. 
Their ministers were of 'one heart,' if not ' of one 
mind.' The 'root of bitterness,' which has since 
sprung up to trouble us, and which, at a former pe- 
riod, had brought forth its bitter fruits of alienation 
and strife, had not again been planted. All the 
Congregational churches in this place united in the 
council, and the ministers of all denominations, I 
have reason to believe, were present at the ordi- 
nation. 

This peace has been disturbed, — a ' wall of par- 
tition ' has been erected, — Christians who were 
once united in spirit, are now divided ; — weapons 
have been used which were not spiritual, — the 
Congregational church is ' a house divided against 
itself.' Nor is this division confined to Congrega- 
20* 



234 THE WOKLD PASSETH AWAY. 

tionalists. I know of no denomination into which 
the spirit of disunion has not entered. I have taken 
no part in this controversy. If it has been useful, 
I have not deemed it so. To me, it has seemed to 
be a dispute about speculative theology, and not 
about religion, and I have mourned that religion, 
and not theology, has borne the blame of it. In 
this society, there has been no interruption, — not 
even for a moment, — of the harmony and confi- 
dence that have subsisted between us. 

It was said, in the obituary of one of my distin- 
guished predecessors, that, 'at his ordination, he 
promised, like a true Christian, to take the holy 
Scriptures as the only rule of faith and practice ; ' — 
that ' he despised the shackles of creeds and confes- 
sions, and steadfastly refused to teach for doctrines 
the commandments of men ; ' — that ' he was a 
hearty lover of all good men, let their peculiar sen- 
timents on some points of doctrine, be ever so 
different from his own.' 

It was the effect of the independent ground he 
had taken, that, of the five churches called to assist 
in his ordination, two did not attend, and a third 
being, from another cause, prevented, the ordination 
was postponed. The two churches which declined 
attendance were the First Church, and the church 
in Brattle Street. In the First Church, however, 
one of the ministers' was his sincere and steadfast 
friend, prayed at his funeral, and paid a tribute of 



THE WORLD PASSETII AWAY. 235 

respect to his memory, in his church, on the Sab- 
bath after his interment.* 

The two churches that were present, were the 
First Church in Cambridge, Mr. Appleton, and the 
First Church in Hingham, Mr. Gay. A large ma- 
jority of the second council, — eleven out of fifteen, 
— selected entirely from the country, attended, and 
a minister was inducted to this charge who was 
esteemed in his life, and pronounced at his death, 
' as brilliant a genius as this country had ever pro- 
duced.' But, more than all, he was ' a man of real 
piety and true devotion,' as eminent for his Christian 
graces, as for his intellectual endowments. He has 
given this church a distinction, of which it may not 
indeed be proud, but in which it may well rejoice. 
It will ever be associated with his name as main- 
taining the true principles of the Reformation. May 
it never forfeit its title to this honorable distinction ! 

The churches which alone attended on the first 
council summoned, were present at the second ; and 
it may be further stated that the ministers of both 
of them took a part in the ordination of the next 
pastor,! Mr. Gay of Hingham offering the prayer of 
ordination, and giving the charge, and Mr. Appleton 
of Cambridge presenting the ' right hand,' and thus 
welcoming the pastor elect to the fellowship of the 
churches. 

The successor of Mayhew, an eminently wise and 

* Dr. Chauncy. He performed a similar service at the Old South 
Church, on the Lord's day after the funeral of Dr. Sewall. 
t Dr. Howard. 



236 THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 

good man, followed in his steps, and neither brought 
himself, nor his people, under ' the yoke of bondage.' 
He did not enter, indeed, like his great predecessor, 
upon the thorny field of controversy, but, like him, 
he asserted his independence ; and inflexibly main- 
tained the sufficiency of the Scriptures ; and the in- 
defeasible right of every man to search and judge for 
himself. It was his own language, with respect to 
the duty of a Christian minister, that he should 
' subscribe no man's creed, and require no man to 
subscribe his.' ' I know not,' he says, l how to rec- 
oncile the conduct of those, who set up other stand- 
ards of Orthodoxy, besides the Holy Scriptures, with 
that superior regard which is due to those Sacred 
Writings.' * 

It has been my ambition, like those who have 
gone before me in this church, to keep myself free 
from the shackles of human authority ; and, to this 
end, I have adopted neither the name, nor the creed, 
of any party. If I had selected any other name 
than that which the first disciples bore, it would 
have been ' eclectic} — taking from each party what 
seemed to me to be truth, — but, better than any 
other name, is the name of Christian, and better 
than all other creeds, the word of God. This name 
is as definite, and this creed is surely as intelligible, 
as any other. Whilst, however, I would build my 
faith on no man's foundation, in matters of religion, 
I have an entire respect for him who diligently and 

* Sermon at the Ordination of Mr. Thomas Adams, 1791. 



THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 237 

devoutly studies his Bible in search of truth ; and 
though he may come to a result different from my 
own, if I perceive in him the fruits of holy living, I 
have no anxiety to convert him to my faith, however 
dear it may be to me. The mode of faith that is 
best for me, may not be best for him. — I am satis- 
fied with his faith, if it is productive of good works. 
I remember that the Saviour has said, ' By their 
fruits ye shall know them ; ' and that an apostle, too, 
has said, ' Show me thy faith without thy works, 
and I will show thee my faith by my works. 5 

Twenty-five years ago, I looked forward to this 
period as a long ministry, — a period I had no san- 
guine expectation of reaching ; but how swiftly has 
it gone ! And yet, when I remember through what 
various scenes I have passed, to how many I have 
ministered in health and sickness, in joy and sor- 
row ; how many have received from me the seal of 
discipleship in the ordinance of baptism, — many of 
whom have grown up around me ; — and how often 
I have offered my prayers over the cold remains of 
those whom I respected and loved, it seems as if this 
period of twenty-five years was greatly extended. 
What great and affecting changes have taken place! 
What vicissitudes have I witnessed in this time! 
How many do I miss from the places they once 
occupied ! c Our fathers, where are they ? ' — Of the 
ministers, of all denominations, who were here at 
the time to which we have looked back, only two 
remain in their churches, and but four are living.* 

* Not one now (1855) remains. 



238 THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 

In the Congregational churches but one remains.* 
Every church but this, has had a new minister in 
this time, and most of them more than one. 

"What a fearful void has occurred in this Society 
during this period ! Of the forty, who were proprie- 
tors at the settlement of the present minister, thirty- 
one are dead. — In some instances, whole families 
have disappeared ; — < the places which once knew 
them, know them no more.' — Of the sixty-six who 
were received to communion with the church during 
the ministry of my immediate predecessor, eight or 
nine only are living ; — of the thirty-nine who were 
admitted in the ministry immediately previous, not 
one. Of the four hundred and thirty-one who have 
been received within the last twenty-five years, 
ninety-five are dead.f Four remain in the parish 
who were baptized by Dr. Mayhew, forty-eight who 
were baptized by Dr. Howard, and four who re- 
ceived this rite in the year and a half immediately 
succeeding his death. Two, — and probably the 
only survivors, — who were baptized by the first 
minister of the church, have died the past year, at 
the ages of eighty-nine and ninety.^ In the present 
ministry there are recorded eleven hundred and fifty- 
five baptisms, including eighty-six adults ; six hun- 

* Dr. Charming, who was settled in 1804. 

t Nine, in addition to those mentioned above, were received to 
communion on the day this sermon was preached. The number of 
communicants is probably about four hundred. 

% Harrison Gray, who died in London, Feb. 2Gth, and Benjamin 
Hall, who died at Watertown, March 12th. 



THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 239 

dred and nine marriages;* and the obsequies of 
nine hundred and twenty-five. Of these, four hun- 
dred and eighty had reached the age of twenty-one 
years, sixty-nine that of seventy years, and six of 
ninety years ; — the oldest ninety-three. 

"When I contemplate, as I now do, the past and 
the present, I seem as if I were standing, like Aaron, 
' between the living and the dead,' — or rather be- 
tween the inhabitants of the present, and the eter- 
nal world. I behold a large congregation, to whom 
I have ministered, both within, and beyond, the 
boundary of time. I tremble whilst I reflect on the 
influence that what I have done, or left undone, has 
had on the condition of those who have passed the 
boundary, and are dwellers in eternity. I tremble 
whilst I turn to you, and reflect on the influence that 
what I may yet do, or leave undone, may have on 
your final destiny, — on my own. I look forward, 
as I have looked backward, twenty-five years, — and 
by whom am I surrounded ? — Where do I stand ? 
— Omniscient God ! to whom the future is as the 
past, — it is known only to Thee! — In Thine in- 
finite MERCY, PREPARE US FOR Thy WILL ! 

I remember this day your kindness, your sympa- 
thy, your forbearance and candor. If they have not 
been deserved by the importance and value of the 

* The number was 409, April 1818, the time of the minister's re- 
moval to Cambridge. For a few years previous, the average annual 
number was from forty to fifty. This event has since subtracted 
from the number nearly all but his own parishioners. 



240 THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY. 

services rendered, there has been some claim to 
them from the desire that has been felt to promote 
your welfare. — I have been i with you without fear.' 
' I have kept back nothing which I deemed profita- 
ble to you, — but have showed you, and taught you 
publicly, and from house to house.' I have rejoiced 
with you in your joy, and in ; all your afflictions 
have been afflicted.' — In a little while, we must 
both appear before God, — I, to give an account of 
how I have taught; — you, of how you have heard. 

I enter with you upon a new year, with good 
purposes. It is my highest ambition to be a faith- 
ful minister of Jesus Christ ; and it would be my 
highest -earthly reward, to know that I had ' not 
labored in vain.' 

We commence this year with uncertain pros- 
pects. We strive to turn over the page on which 
its events are written, — but it is sealed. We 
stretch our aching sight into the distance before us, 
— but it is vain. We can descry nothing with cer- 
tainty. Conjecture must supply its place, and how 
fallacious conjecture is, our past experience will 
teach us. But our times are in God's hands, and 
there we may safely leave them. With devout 
gratitude for his past mercies, and with humble, yet 
firm, reliance for the future, let us enter on this 
year. 

Most of us have been doomed to know, — and 
some of us on the very threshold of the year, — how 
sad a tale a year can tell. May the admonitions of 
those, who can now only address us in a voice from 



THE WORLD PASSE TH AWAY. 241 

the tomb, reach our hearts with an impression which 
shall never be effaced ! May they excite us, by the 
grace of God, to fulfil with diligence the duties of 
life ; — to give ourselves to God in Christ ; — that 
when we, too, shall address others in the silent lan- 
guage of the grave, it may come to them with the 
more effect from the recollection that we had been 
ourselves mindful of the warnings of mortality. 

The ivorld passeth away^ — and we are passing 
away with it. 

■ Life speeds away, 
From point to point, though seeming to stand still. 
The cunning fugitive is swift by stealth : 
Too subtle is the movement to be seen ; 
Yet soon man's hour is up, — and we are gone.' 



21 



APPENDIX. 



The West Church was * gathered ' January 3d, 1737. The first 
minister, William Hooper, was from Scotland. He was ordained 
May 18th, 1737, and having become an Episcopalian, resigned his 
office in 1746. I am indebted to the kindness of William Lincoln, 
Esq., of Worcester, for the following extract from the Boston Eve- 
ning Post of Nov. 24th, 1746. « Wednesday last, the proprietors of 
Trinity Church, in this town, made choice of the Rev. Mr. William 
Hooper (then settled pastor of the church in the west part of the 
town) for their minister, in the room of the Rev. Mr. Addington 
Davenport, deceased. Mr. Hooper immediately accepted the call, 
and is going hQme for orders in the Chester man-of-war, which we 
hear is to sail to-day or to-morrow. This event is the more surpris- 
ing, as Mr. Hooper had never signified his intention to any of his 
hearers, nor was there the least difference between him and them ; 
and it is generally thought no minister in the country was ever 
better respected and supported by his people, than Mr. Hooper has 
been.' Mr. Hooper died very suddenly, April 14th, 1747, much 
lamented. His wife was a twin sister of Mr. John Dennie, an emi- 
nent merchant, father of Thomas Dennie, Esq. His son, who grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 1760, was member of Congress from 
North Carolina, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. The second minister, Jonathan Mayhew, a native of 
Martha's Vineyard, was ordained June 17, 1747, and died July 9th, 
1766, aged 46. The third minister, Simeon Howard, a native of 
Bridgewater. now W. Bridgewater, was ordained May 6, 1767, and 
died Aug. 13, 1804, aged 71. The present minister, a native of 
Boston, was ordained Jan. 1, 1806. He was the fifty-eighth Con- 



APrEx\Dix. 243 

gregational minister ever settled in Boston, and there have been 
thirty-two since settled. 

From a correspondence, in 1740, between Dr. Colman and Mr. 
Hooper, which I find in MS. in the Historical Society's Library, I 
am led to think that Mr. Hooper's greater liberality of sentiment 
than some of his brethren, had an influence in determining him to 
leave the Congregational communion. The lelters on both sides aro 
written in the true spirit of Christianity. That Mr. H. was not 
influenced by pecuniary motives in leaving this parish, I think is 
evident from the following statement, given by Douglas in 1750, by 
which it appears probable that Mr. Hooper's society stood second in 
the town in point of numbers and ability ; — certainly in liberality. 

* The ability and numbers of the several religious societies,' he says, 

* may be gathered from a Sunday's contribution for charity to the 
poor of the town, distressed for want of fire-wood in the hard win- 
ter, Feb. 1740-1. Dr. Cutler (Christ Church) 72/. 14s. 2d. Mr. 
Price (Chapel) 134/. 10s. Mr. Davenport (Trinity) 133/. 3s. 3d. 
Mr. Welsteed (New Brick, now 2d Church) 58/. Mr. Hooper, 143/. 
Mr. Foxcroft (First Church) 95/. French Church, 14/. lis. 3d. 
Anabaptist, 14/. 2s. Irish Presbyterian (now Federal Street Church) 
271. 5s. Mr. Checkley (New South) 72/. 12s. Mr. Byles (Hollis 
Street) 40/. 2s. Dr. Colman (Brattle Street) 164/. 10s. Dr. Sew- 
all (Old South) 105/. Mr. Webb (New North) 105/. Mr. Gee (2d 
Church) 71/. 10s. 5d. 

The Thanksgiving contributions, which commenced in 1809, 
have amounted to about $4493 ; the collections at the commun- 
ion, (which are given, after a small deduction, to the poor) for 
twenty-five years, to about $4925. Beside these, there have been 
contributions, at various times, for sufferers at a distance, and on 
three Fast days. Among other collections, about $600 were col- 
lected some years since, chiefly through the exertions, as I believe, 
of Thomas Dennie, Esq., for the poor of the town, in consequence of 
a sermon preached by the pastor, and two hundred and thirty-two 
dollars more recently, for the poor of the parish, by the late benev- 
olent Mr. John A. Bacon. A bequest of $500, to the poor of the 
society, by Mrs. Eliot, was one among the numerous acts of benevo- 
lence of that excellent lady. Mr. Eliot, it may be remembered, 
gave thirty or forty thousand dollars to valuable public objects. 

The present house of worship was dedicated Nov. 27th, 1806, and 



244 APPENDIX. 

cost about $52,000. An additional expense of $483 was incurred 
in 1809, for the support of the roof, and a new roof was put on in 
1823, at an expense of $4600. The cost of the furnace the same 
year, was $300 ; of the new collection of psalms and hymns, same 
year, $750 ; of the organ, made in England, first used Jan. 18th, 
1818, $3000 ; of the new bell in 1824 (the other having been brok- 
en) weighing 1456 lbs., $560; deducting $219, the amount of the 
old bell, weighing 878 lbs. leaves $341. In 1823, a silver pitcher, 
of the value of $100, was presente'd to the present treasurer, who 
was chosen in 1812, with this inscription, ' Presented by the West 
Boston Society to N. P. Russell, Esq., as a memorial of their respect 
for his assiduous services as treasurer. Boston, April 2d, 1823.' 
The immediate predecessor of Mr. Russell, was James Prince, Esq., 
an ardent friend of the parish, who died deeply regretted, Feb. 10th, 
1821, aged 63. In 1824, through the exertions, chiefly, of Charles 
G. Loring and William H. Eliot, Esqs., both connected with the 
parish from childhood, and its devoted and active friends, the pres- 
ent beautiful pulpit was substituted for the former one, at an ex- 
pense of about $1500. To the latter gentleman it is owing that 
our church music, for several years, has been excelled by none in 
the city. The inside clock, given by the late John Derby, Esq., a 
man much honored and beloved, and the outside clock, are both 
noticed in the historical sermon printed in 1821. The current ex- 
penses of the Society, for the support of public worship for twenty- 
five years, averaging $3000, has been $75,000. The tax is at the 
rate of eleven cents per week on $100 of the valuation. Some are 
gratified with minute details, and, as far as they are proper in a 
document designed only for the parish, they can be given. In regard 
to many of the particulars mentioned in this appendix, it may be 
found convenient to have a memorandum of them at hand. It will 
be gratifying to some, to know that the children first baptized in the 
present church, were John, son of Mr. Andrew Calhoun, and brother 
of the Speaker of the House of Representatives ; Matilda, daughter 
of Mr. Ebenezer Eaton ; and a child of Mr. Jonathan Goodwin. 
The first child baptized in the old church was William, son of Mr. 
Thomas Winter. The last in that church were the children of Dea- 
con Haskell ; a child of Mr. I. Cushing, and of Mr. D. Wise. 

Those from the parish, as far as recollected, who have graduated 
at Harvard College since 1820 (when the list was last given) to 



APPENDIX. 245 

1855, the date of this re-publicatioo, are Francis Cabot Lowell, 
Charles W. Upham, Joseph S. Hubbart, Edward J. Lowell, Henry 
S. Wade, William G. Prince, George W. Wells, William P. Matchett, 
Benjamin Brigham, Francis Cunningham, Augustus S. Doane, 
Charles P. Foster, John C. Howard, Charles R. Lowell, Charles 
Ritchie, Francis C. Loring, Charles T. Murdoch, John A. Swett, 
Andrew Ritchie, Samuel B. Babcock, George C. Shattuck, Horace 
Dupee, John S. Perkins, George A. Eaton, Robert T. S. Lowell, 
John Murdoch, Thomas B. Pope, Charles S. Newell, James Ritchie, 
Frederic 0. Prince, Charles H. Hathorne, James R. Lowell, Loring 
Austin, Charles H. Brigham, Samuel Eliot, Caleb Wm. Loring, 
Augustus R. Pope, Samuel Kneeland, Henry S. Parker, Luther 
Parks, James Vilay, Edward Wheelwright, George P. Upham, 
Horace Cunningham, Benjamin S. Shaw, Henry L. Hallett, Andrew 
C. Wheelwright, Charles G. Loring, Nathaniel P. Russell, Loammi 
G. Ware, George G. Lowell, Arthur H. Poor, Sidney Willard, Wm. 
S. Davis, Richard C. Goodwin, Charles Russell Lowell, John D. Wells. 

The oldest person in the society, who was baptized here, is Mrs. 
Susanna Lapham, whose father, Mr. Thomas Pillsbury, was a mem- 
ber during the ministry of Mr. Hooper. The ancestors of Mrs. 
Derby, and of the children of Dr. Shattuck, were contemporary 
with the formation of the society. The father of the late Mr. Avery, 
of Mr. Jones, of the late Mr. Prince, of Mrs. Langdon and Mr. C. 
Walley, of Mr. Eliot, of Miss Jackson, were proprietors in Dr. 
Mayhew's ministry. The late Mr. B. Vose, an upright, honorable 
man, whose daughter is still with us, was also then a member of the 
society. Of the proprietors in January, 1806, all but one, who are 
in the city, are with us ; viz. Mr. Carnes, Mr. Gore, Mr. Dennie, 
Mr. Jones, Mr. Loring, Mr. Jonas Coolidge, and Mr. C. Walley, 
who was proxy for his father. A list of the proprietors at the time 
of Dr. Mayhew's death, I have inserted in the church records. 

The separate publications of the ministers of the church, as far as 
I know them, have been as follows : 

Mr. Hooper. c Christ the Life of true Believers,' a Sermon from 
Colos. iii. 4. 1741. ' The Apostles neither Impostors nor Enthusi- 
asts,' a Sermon from Acts xxvi. 25. 1742. 'Jesus Christ the Only 
Way to the Father,' Sermon from John xiv. 6. 1742. Sermon at the 

Funeral of Thomas Greene, Esq. 1763. Dr. Mayhew. Seven 

Sermons, l On the Difference between Right and Wrong,' &c. 1749. 
21* 



246 APPENDIX 

Sermon on the 30th of January, 1750. Sermon on the Death of 
Frederic, [Prince of Wales, 1751. Election Sermon, 1754. Two 
Discourses on the Earthquakes, November 23d, 1755. Two Dis- 
courses on the Earthquakes, Dec. 13, 1755. Fourteen Sermons, 
' On Hearing the Word,' &,c 1756. Two Thanksgiving Sermons, 
1758. Two Thanksgiving Discourses on the Reduction of Que- 
bec, 1759. Sermon occasioned by the Great Fire in Boston, March 
20th, 1760. Two Thanksgiving Discourses on the Reduction of 
Canada, 1760. Discourse on the Death of Chief Justice Sewall, 1760. 
Thirteen Sermons on Ps. cxix. 59, 60, 1760. Discourse on the Death 
of George II. and Accession of George III., 1761. Two Sermons on 
Luke xiii. 24. 1761. Two Thanksgiving Sermons for December 9th, 
1762. 1763. Eight Sermons to Young Men, with two Thanksgiving 
Sermons, 1763. ■ Observations on the Character and Conduct of 
the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts,' 1763. 
* Reply to Candid Observations,' &c. ' Remarks on an Anonymous 
Tract, 9 &c. 'Letter of Reproof to Mr. John Cleaveland of Ips- 
wich, 5 1764. Dudleian Lecture from 2 Cor. vi. 16, 1765. Thanks- 
giving Discourse on the Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. Dr. 

Howard. Artillery Election Sermon, 1773. Sermon on the Death 
of his Wife, 1777. Sermon before the Free Masons, 1778. « Chris- 
tians no cause to be ashamed of their Religion,' a Sermon, 1779. 
Election Sermon, 1780. Sermon at the Ordination of Thomas Ad- 
ams, 1791. The present minister. Artillery Election Sermon, 

1810. Sermon at the State Prison, 1812. Sermon before the Soci- 
ety for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Piety, and Charity. 1816. 
Sermon after the execution of H. P. S. Davis, 1817. Sermon before 
the Society for Propagating the Gospel, 1820. Century Sermon con- 
taining a history of the West Church, 1821. Sermon at the Ordi- 
nation of R. M. Hodges, 1821. Sermon at the Ordination of S. Bar- 
rett, 1825. l The Christian Spirit,' a Sermon at the Ordination of* 
G. W. Wells, 1827. ' The Name of Christian the only appropriate 
Name for Believers in Christ,' Sermon at the Dedication of 3d Con- 
gregational church in Cambridge, 1828. « The Trinitarian Contro- 
versy,' a Sermon at Ordination of D. M. Stearnes, 1828. ■ Union in 
Sentiment among Christians not essential to Peace,' a Sermon at 
Dedication of the church in Natick, 1829. ' Theology and not Re- 
ligion the Source of Division and Strife in the Christian Church,' a 
Sermon at Ordination of J. L. Sibley, 1829. Sermon at Dedication 



APPENDIX. 247 

of a church in Milton, 1829. * The Wisdom and Goodness of God 
in the Appointment of Men and not Angels to the Christian Minis- 
try,' a Sermon at the Ordination of D. H. Barlow, Lynn, and of R. 
F. Walcut, Berlin, 1830. ' Men accountable only to God for their 
Religious Opinions,' a Sermon at the Ordination of J. Fessenden, at 
Deerfield, and W. Barry, Jr. at Lowell, 1831. Devotional Exer- 
cises &c. for the Lord's Supper. Meditations for the afflicted, sick 
and dying. Manual for Communicants, &c. Sermon on completing 
a Quarter of a Century of his Ministry, 1831. Three Discourses 
were published in this country on the death of Dr. Mayhew, viz. by 
Dr. Chauncy, Mr. Gay and Mr. Brown, and an Eclogue to his 
memory, by B. Church, M. D. The Discourses delivered on the 
death of Dr. Howard were not published. 

Dr. Mayhew (owing as it is understood, to difference of theological 
opinion) was not admitted a member of the Boston Association of 
Congregational Ministers. It is customary to apply for admission. 
Whether Dr. Mayhew, from an impression he should not be received, 
did not apply, or applied and was refused, I cannot say. By an 
extract from the records of the Association, furnished me by my 
friend Mr. Young, the present Scribe, it appears that, Aug. 9, 1784, 
a committee (Mr. Eckley and Mr. Clarke) appointed at a former 
meeting, ' to wait on Rev. Mr. Howard, and know of him whether 
he wished to join the Association, reported that they had attended to 
that service, and the Rev. Mr. Howard would take the matter into 
consideration.' It appears further, that July 4th, 1790, Dr. How- 
ard signified his desire to be admitted, and was admitted accordingly, 
and was requested to preach the Thursday Lecture. On this sub- 
ject, my much respected friend, Dr. Porter, the pastor of my child- 
hood and youth, who was a member of the Association in 1784, 
remarks — * I never heard that he (Dr. H.) desired or was invited 
to become a member of the Association, till the time you mention, 
when an exclusive spirit had yielded to liberal principles and feel- 
ings. That he did not seek admission at an earlier period, I am 
persuaded was not owing to his want of liberality and affectionate 
regard to his brethren, but to the circumstances in which he found 
himself placed as successor to Dr. Mayhew.' 

The Association consisted, in 1806, of the ministers of the nine Con- 
gregational churches in Boston, and of the churches in Roxbury, Dor- 
chester, Brookline, Charlestown, and Chelsea. The present minister 



248 



APPENDIX. 



of one of the nine (the Old South) is not a member. It now consists of 
the ministers of twelve Congregational churches in Boston, of King's 
Chapel, of one in Charles town, three in Roxbury, two in Dorchester, 
one in Brookline, one in Chelsea, and one at Lechmere's Point. 
They meet twice a month, for mutual intercourse and improvement. 
The Thursday Lecture is preached by this Association. The mem- 
bers of the Association who have died since Jan. 1, 1806, are Dr. 
West, Dr. Eckley, Mr. Emerson, Mr. Buckminster, Dr. Eliot, Mr. 
Abbott, Mr. Cary, Dr. Lathrop, Mr. Thacher, Mr. Huntington, Mr. 
Prentiss of Charlestown, Dr. Morse of Charlestown, Mr. Bradford 
of Roxbury, and Dr. Holley. Eight of these were settled before the 
time above mentioned. 

Though the ministers of the town stood aloof from Dr. Mayhew, 
yet I have been told that they did not neglect him in his sickness, 
and had a day of fasting and prayer for his recovery. It is said 
that Dr. Sewall was requested, when he visited him, to question him 
on the subject of the Trinity, which he was supposed to disbelieve, 
but that he found him in such a happy frame of mind, he forgot his 
errand, or did not think it important to fulfil it. On being asked if 
he had said anything about it, in his interview, he replied, « Oh, no, 
no ) I believe he loves the Lord Jesus Christ dearly.' 

At the ordination of Dr. Howard, there were three churches from 
Boston on the council, viz. the First Church, the New South, and 
Mr. S. Mather's. The "West Church has been invited, during Dr. 
Howard's and the present ministry, to attend one hundred and 
twenty-seven councils ; forty of them in Dr. Howard's ministry, and 
one between the time of his death and 1806. In some other cases, 
letters have not been sent, when it was understood the minister 
could not attend. 

In order to be received to commnnion with the church, application 
is made to the minister, and if the minister see no good reason to 
refuse admission, the name of the applicant is enrolled on the records 
of the church, and the person thus enrolled is entitled to all the 
privileges of membership. If the minister should withhold his as- 
sent, he must submit the case to the church for their decision. It is 
the rule that the names of the persons admitted shall be reported to 
the church ; but there is a discretionary power, in this last partic- 
ular, with the minister. 



SERMON XIII. 



MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR THEIR THEO- 
LOGICAL OPINIONS. 

[Preached successively at the Ordination of Ministers in Lowell and Deerfield, 1830.] 

Romans xiv. 4. — to his own master he standeth or falleth. 

The whole verse reads thus : ' Who art thou 
that judgest another m^n's servant? To his own 
master he standeth or falleth. ' 

This expostulatory admonition was called forth 
by peculiar circumstances, but they were such cir- 
cumstances as warrant us in considering the words 
as containing a general proposition, applicable in 
all times. It was a case of conscience to which 
the apostle referred, and in all cases of conscience, 
whether of faith or practice, we are to satisfy our 
own minds, and are amenable only to God. 

I infer from these words, in the first place, that 
men are accountable to God, and not to one an- 
other, for their faith. It would seem as if this prop- 
osition were self-evident. Is there any one in this 



250 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

assembly who can seriously and deliberately deny 
it ? I believe not. And yet it has been practically, 
if I may say so, called in question, not by the Ro- 
man church merely, but by almost every sect of 
Christians. Self-evident as it may be, there have 
been many, in all ages, and all churches, who have 
not discerned it ; who have erected a tribunal, and 
arraigned their brother, and sat in judgment on his 
faith, and passed sentence of condemnation or ac- 
quittal. It is because this proposition is denied, 
or forgotten, or disregarded, that there is so much 
contention among Christians about the mode of 
faith. If every man was persuaded that his brother 
was answerable to God. and not to him, for his 
opinions, and would act agreeably to this persua- 
sion, there would be an end of all this contention. 
He might pity his brother if he knew his opinions, 
and thought them erroneous, — he might pray for 
him, — he might labor to enlighten him, — but if 
all was fruitless, he would leave him to stand or fall 
to his own master. 

That we are accountable to God, and not to 
man, for our faith, I have inferred from the text. 
The Bible is full of declarations to this effect. But 
we need not go to the Bible to learn it. We may 
infer it from the reason of things. To God, and 
not to man, we are indebted for our rational and 
moral faculties, and our various opportunities of 
acquiring religious knowledge. God, and not man, 
is acquainted with our use or abuse of these fac- 
ulties and opportunities in the acquisition of this 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 251 

knowledge. God is conscious to circumstances 
which are not known to our fellow-men, and per- 
haps not to ourselves, and which may have an im- 
portant influence on the result of our inquiries. It 
is reasonable, then, that He, and He only, should sit 
in judgment on our faith. And it is so. We may 
not judge our brother. He may not judge us. And 
it is well it is so. We should not judge our brother 
so justly, or so mercifully, nor would he judge us 
with as much justice, or mercy, as God. 

In the second place, I infer from the text, that, as 
we are not accountable to one another for our re- 
ligious opinions, so we are under no obligation to 
divulge those opinions, (except in as far as we may 
deem it useful,) — still less, to obtrude them on one 
another. i Hast thou faith ? Have it to thyself be- 
fore God.' Thou art accountable to God alone ; 
and as thy brother may not sit in judgment on thy 
faith when it is known, so he may not demand it of 
thee when it is not known. Thou art not called to 
obtrude it upon him ; and it is with great caution 
that thou shouldst give a bias to his opinion in a 
matter in which he is answerable only- to God. 

We take on ourselves a great responsibility, my 
hearers, — and we should deliberately view it as 
such, — when we inculcate on others our mode of 
faith. God has given them His word, as well as 
us. If they do not possess it, let us furnish them 
with it. If they cannot read it, let us enable them to 
do so. If they are unacquainted with the circum- 
stances under which the various parts of it were 



252 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

written, let us make them known. Is there anything 
wanting to give them a fair, full opportunity of un- 
derstanding it for themselves, let us supply it, if we 
can, And here we may stop. If I do not say here 
we should stop, it is rather from a respect for the 
opinions, and a regard for the feelings of those who 
would dissent from me. 

If we go further than this, it should be with great 
diffidence and meekness and kindness. If we do 
not go further, and our brother should still remain 
in ignorance of anything, — it is not essential ; it 
will not affect his salvation. It must be on a sub- 
ject that is not clearly revealed ; and if we interfere, 
we are probably quite as likely to obscure, as to 
elucidate it. 

But perhaps our brother, on a point of doubtful 
disputation, has arrived at a result different from 
ourselves ? Be it so. He has arrived at it with 
the use of his own faculties, and the exercise of his 
own judgment. If he has carefully sought the truth, 
and sincerely followed the best light he could obtain, 
he is innocent in the sight of God, and even secure 
of acceptance — as far as opinions are concerned — 
into whatever errors he may have fallen. If we 
could give him our faith, we should do him no 
good, unless it were adapted to exert a better in- 
fluence on his life than his own. 

We are told that they who hold the truth shall 
be condemned, if they ' hold the truth in unright- 
eousness.' But tve are nowhere told that they who 
embrace efrror will be lost, unless they shut their 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 253 

eyes against the truth. I know that a different lan- 
guage is held by many, and that the adoption of a 
peculiar mode of faith is considered by them as 
indispensable to our being received to grace and 
favor. They have themselves adopted this faith as 
the faith of the gospel, and it may, or may not, be 
so. Their error is, not in holding this faith, if it 
has been obtained by a candid and diligent study 
of God's word, but in supposing that the reception 
of this faith is essential to salvation. I say their 
error, for I believe them to be sincere and conscien- 
tious, though I cannot but regret that their attach- 
ment to a system should so far mislead them, and 
blind them to the plain, repeated, invariable decla- 
rations of the Holy Scriptures. 

The remarks I have made, are, in my opinion, 
much more applicable to the teachers of religion 
than is commonly imagined. They should do 
everything in their power to establish those to 
whom they minister, in the belief of revelation, and 
everything to make them feel its influence. Such 
doctrines as, in their opinion, are promotive of god- 
liness, they should inculcate and enforce without 
fear or favor. Such as are matters of speculation, 
and are not clearly revealed, they may as well let 
alone. They cannot explain what is inexplicable, 
and why should they attempt it? On such points, 
it can do their hearers no good to have their con- 
jectures; and as to argument and reasoning on 
such points, it amounts to nothing. They may 
have then- faith to themselves before God, and no 
vol. i. 22 



254 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

one has a right to demand it, or to condemn them 
for it, if it is given. 

Besides, if their hearers have understandings as 
well as themselves, and are accountable to God for 
the use they make of them, ministers should be 
very careful how they repress inquiry, or give a bias 
to the judgment in the search after truth. It is 
well, — nay, it is essential, — that the faith of their 
people should be their own faith, and not the faith 
of their minister. They may innocently differ from 
him, and he may innocently differ from them. It is 
only important that they should be united in the be- 
lief of those truths, which are clearly revealed ; and in 
the practice of the duties which these truths impose. 

The same remark will apply to parents. Whilst 
they teach their children the worth of the Scrip- 
tures, and, by precept and example, enforce the 
study of them, let them respect the understandings 
of their children, remember to whom they are ac- 
countable, and allow them to judge for themselves, 
respecting the doctrines of revelation. Let them 
teach what is plain and practical in religion, and 
beware of perplexing the minds of their children with 
mysterious speculations and doubtful controversies. 
These * engender strife,' but ( do not serve for edi- 
fying.' ' Secret things belong unto the Lord your 
God, but the things that are revealed belong unto 
you, and to your children after you, that you may 
do the words of this law.' What is revealed, is 
revealed to be practised; and it is this which it 
most concerns us and our children to know. 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 255 

I am aware that there are those — and they are 
not confined to any particular sect, — who maintain 
that it belongs to a minister authoritatively to indoc- 
trinate his people with his own theological creed, 
and that if he neglects to do so, he must be misera- 
ble in witnessing the spectacle of diverse, and per- 
haps opposite, opinions in matters of faith. 

If this doctrine be sound, the Roman Catholic 
clergy are wiser than we are, for how much do they 
promote uniformity of sentiment by withholding the 
Scriptures from the laity ; and what a vast amount 
of time and labor and money do they save, which 
is expended by Protestants in the distribution of 
Bibles. 

If this doctrine be sound, what set of men so mis- 
erable as Protestant ministers ? For, where shall 
we find, — nay, where could we by possibility find, 
— a Christian society entirely united in their theo- 
logical opinions ? 

For myself, I have been compelled to witness a 
diversity of opinion, in my own case, for a quarter 
of a century. It is to me a beautiful spectacle, — a 
people differing in sentiment, but united in spirit. 

It may be well to observe, in this connection, that 
it is very common to resort to ministers with the 
expectation that they can remove all the difficulties 
of Scripture, and solve all the questions which arise 
in the speculations of an inquisitive mind, or the 
vagaries of an ardent imagination; and ministers 
too often attempt an explanation, instead of frankly 
confessing their ignorance, which would be less dis- 



256 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

creditable to themselves, and less prejudicial to the 
cause of truth. If they are foolish and unlearned 
questions, that are thus propounded, they have the 
sanction of an apostle for avoiding them. 

In all cases of spiritual distress, when the soul is 
bowed down with a sense of its sins, and is anx- 
iously inquiring what it shall do to be saved, a min- 
ister should be ready to meet every inquiry, and for 
the faithful discharge of this part of his duty, he 
should diligently prepare himself. — It was the office 
of his Master to ' heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of 
sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are 
bruised, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, 
to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness.' God the Father hath revealed himself 
as ' the God of all comfort ; who comforteth those 
that are cast down ; — yea, who comforteth us in all 
our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them 
that are in trouble, by the Same comfort, with which 
we ourselves are comforted of God.' And it is the 
commission to his servants, 4 Comfort ye, comfort 
ye my people ; strengthen the weak hands, and con- 
firm the feeble knees ; — say to them that are of a 
fearful heart, be strong, fear not.' Let ministers be- 
ware how they disregard this commission, and reject 
the call for spiritual guidance and comfort, as the 
dream of a visionary fancy ; as the terrors of super- 
stition ; as the gloom of fanaticism ; or the horrors of 
a mind disjointed and weakened by bodily disease. 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 257 

It may be so, — and it may not be so. — It is for the 
minister anxiously to listen to the lowest whisper of 
distress among his people, and to do what he is able 
to heal that distress. 

In the third place, I remark that as we are ac- 
countable to God for our faith, we should be careful 
to know, for ourselves, on what foundation it stands. 
This is a solemn consideration to which I would 
call your attention with all the seriousness which 
becomes a subject so sacred, and with all the ear- 
nestness which its unspeakable importance demands. 
You have in your hands a book which purports to 
be a revelation from God. You must answer to 
God for the manner in which you receive and use it. 
Have you a knowledge of what it teaches, and how 
has that knowledge been acquired ? Have you de- 
liberately and devoutly examined it, that you might 
judge for yourselves of its doctrines, and learn for 
yourselves its instructions ? — Have you any faith ? 
and if you have, is it built on the foundation of the 
prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner stone ? — or does it stand in the wis- 
dom of man, and not in the power of God ? You 
may now answer these inquiries to your consciences ; 
— you must soon answer them at the bar of God. 
You cannot get rid of your responsibility. Another's 
faith is not your faith. It will avail you nothing to 
be accepted or condemned by your fellow men. 
There is a higher tribunal, and before that tribunal 
you must soon stand. 

Go, then, to your Bible, with minds seriously de- 

22* 



258 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

sirous to know the truth, and determined to embrace 
it, however opposed to your inclination or your pre- 
vious judgment. The truth you are to seek is not 
the truth of a sect, but of Christianity. Go not as 
Congregationalists, or Episcopalians, or Baptists; 
not as Unitarians, or Trinitarians, but as Christians, 
who have comparatively but small respect for human 
teachers, and desire to know what Christ hath 
taught. Go, read it, not as you would read a his- 
tory, or a work of science, or any other book ; but, as 
it is, the word of God, remembering that He who 
indited it alone can enlighten your minds that you 
may understand it, and open your hearts that you 
may receive and feel it. Read it, then, upon your 
knees, — with prayer. I do not mean that you 
should retire to your closet, whenever you take your 
Bible, but that, at least, from the ' secret chambers ' 
of the heart, and in language which is audible, only 
to God, a prayer should ascend for Divine illumina- 
tion, and Divine grace. ' Open Thou mine eyes 
that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. 
Hide not Thy commandments from me. Lighten 
my darkness. Sanctify me through Thy truth.' 

Nor is it for our faith alone that we are account- 
able ; — much more for the results of that faith, must 
we give an account to God. There are many truths 
which we may learn from the Bible ; there are many 
doctrines which it is important for us to know ; but 
the truth which it most concerns us to learn is that 
which will make us better ; and the doctrine which 
will be most effectual to our salvation, is ' the doc- 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 259 

trine according to godliness.' With many Christians 
their faith is a delusion, a superficial, transient prin- 
ciple, floating upon the surface, which has never 
taken possession of the mind. With many, too, 
their faith, — sincere and earnest it may be, — is 
employed about speculations ; and expends itself in 
explaining what God has left unexplained, in defin- 
ing what has been left undefined, and thus the head 
is often stored (shall I say with knowledge ?) at the 
expense of the heart ; the mind is roving in the airy 
regions of metaphysical theory, and the sober reali- 
ties of life are neglected, or deemed of minor impor- 
tance. 

Genuine faith is operative. It ' works by love, it 
purifies the heart, and overcomes the world.' ' Show 
me thy faith without thy works, and I will show 
thee my faith by my works.' Do we reflect, with 
a believing heart, on the love of God, who sent forth 
his Son to save us ; — on the love of Christ, who 
died for our sins ? our hearts will ' burn within us,' 
and we shall feel ourselves constrained ' to live no 
longer to ourselves, but to him who died for us and 
rose again.' 

And here, as in the other case, we stand or fall, 
not to our fellow-men, but to God. We cannot 
hide ourselves in a crowd. We cannot escape by 
connecting ourselves with others. The single, indi- 
vidual being, must stand by himself, and answer for 
himself, at the bar of his Judge. If others have been 
virtuous, it will not make him so. If others have 
been vicious, it will not excuse his vices. He may 



260 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

plead what he has done that he ought to have done, 
and what he has left undone that he ought not to 
have done, and it will be heard in his behalf. But 
the merits, or demerits, of others will be of no avail 
to him. They, like him, must stand before the 
judgment seat, and answer for themselves. They 
will have enough to do, through the mercy of God, 
and the mediation of Jesus Christ, to secure their 
own salvation. They will have no goodness to 
spare, — they have performed no works of superero- 
gation that can be set down to the account of 
others. It will be well, if they have done enough to 
make their c own calling and election sure.' 

The time is hastening on when the sentence of 
condemnation will be passed on the faith that has 
been barren and unproductive of the fruits of holi- 
ness. It may be near at hand. — ' Now is the ac- 
cepted time.' Now. It is not to-morrow. It is 
to-day. It is not the next hour. It is the present 
moment, — for the present moment only is ours. 
We have as little hold upon the future, as we have 
upon the past. The one is gone, — irretrievably 
gone. The other has not yet come, — and may 
never come to us. If we defer the work of prepara- 
tion a single moment, we do it at the greatest haz- 
ard. — There are ingenious calculations respecting 
the continuance of human life ; but how often are 
these calculations falsified ! They are founded on 
the presumption that nature will be allowed to do its 
work in its own way, without the intervention of any 
other agent of destruction. No certain allowance 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 261 

can be made for mischances, — for the casualties that 
in any moment, and in any place, may terminate or 
shorten life, — for the diseases that may be inspired 
with the breath, and convert the element that was 
designed to sustain us, into the instrument of death. 
No allowance can be made for these, for they cannot 
be foreseen ; they may come, or they may not come. 
And if they do come, it may be as ' a thief in the 
night,' — without any warning. "We may now, 
even now, be standing on the utmost verge of exist- 
ence. — Standing, did I say ? We are never stand- 
ing, — and the next step we advance, may plunge 
us into the abyss of eternity. 

c Why are you so slow,' said one to a Lacedemo- 
nian, ' in passing capital judgment ? Why so many 
examinations taken, so many defences permitted to 
the accused, and after conviction and sentence, so 
long a space of time before the execution?' — ' It is 
because an error in such a case, cannot be corrected. 
We may kill the living, but we cannot revive the 
dead.' — ' Why do you spend so much time in read- 
ing, meditation and prayer ? ' was a question pro- 
posed to a pious man. He lifted up his eyes and 
hands to heaven, and said, with great solemnity 
and seriousness, ' Forever, — forever, — forever ! ' 
— Yes, fellow candidates for immortality ! in this 
short life, we are preparing to live forever. Let us 
watch, and pray, and resist our evil propensities, 
and, under the banner of the cross, resolutely con- 
tend with our spiritual enemies, and travel onward. 



262 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 

till our feet shall stand on Mount Zion, and our 
heads be crowned with immortal glory. 

1 Lord! Increase our faith.' Give us to believe 
with the heart; that our faith may sustain us in 
every hour of affliction ; enable us to triumph in 
every time of temptation ; and carry us on to the 
eternal rewards of victory ! — Such be our prayer ; — 
our labor ; — that the principles of our faith may be 
deeply rooted in our minds, the momentous truths 
it imparts habitually present with us, — that we may 
' run with patience the race that is set before us,' 
and, with the apostle, be able to say, ' I have fought 
a good fight, and finished my course, and kept the 
faith ; henceforth there is a crown of righteousness 
laid up for me in heaven.' 

In accordance with ancient practice, from which 
I have seen no good reason to depart, I now turn to 
him who is to be consecrated to the work of the 
ministry ; and I do this, my brother, in full confi- 
dence that the sentiments I have uttered will receive 
from you, a sincere and hearty response. You have 
distinctly and emphatically declared that you shall 
assert and maintain, in your own case, the right of 
private judgment in matters of faith, and that you 
shall sacredly respect in others what you thus claim 
for yourself. You have looked round upon the 
Christian world with the eye of a Christian, and 
finding it divided, and subdivided, into innumerable 
sects and parties, you have determined to wear the 
badge of none of them, but, going to your Master 
for your name, and to your Bible for your creed, to 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 263 

embrace all Christians in the arms of Christian 
charity. If it were not that it would imply a re- 
proach upon wise and good men, I should say that 
I honor you for your wisdom ; — I may say that I 
honor you for you independence and firmness ; and 
I honor this people, too, who, by a public and solemn 
act, have sustained you in your purpose. I have con- 
fidence that they will still sustain you, and I have 
confidence in you, that you will stand fast in your 
liberty, and not suffer yourself to be brought under 
the yoke of bondage. 

Standing, not between, but aloof from, parties ; 
let it ever, as now, be manifest, that you will know 
among this people, not Trinitarianism or Unita- 
rianism ; Arianism or Sabellianism ; Calvinism or 
Arminianism ; or any formula of human device ; 
but, ' Jesus Christ, and him crucified.' 

In the providence of God, and through the liber- 
ality of the religious society usually worshipping 
here, the circumstances under which you are intro- 
duced to the ministry, are strikingly and beautifully 
appropriate to the liberal course you have marked 
out for yourself. It will not be your fault, I am per- 
suaded, if your introduction to this pulpit to-day, is 
not the prelude to Christian fellowship between 
yourself and the minister of this church. 

May this spirit of charity be more widely dif- 
fused ! Cherish it, my brother, and labor to promote 
it. It is the spirit of the religion you teach. — It 

IS THE SPIRIT OF HEAVEN. Amen. 



264 MEN ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO GOD FOR 



At the Ordination in Deerfield, the conclusion of the Discourse was 
as follows : 

In the condition of this people, my brother, you 
have, if I mistake not, a practical comment on the 
doctrine of my discourse, and on the good sense and 
discretion of your immediate predecessor. Fearless 
in asserting, and resolute in maintaining, his own 
right of judgment in matters of faith, he was care- 
ful of infringing on the right of others. Having a 
proper respect for his own mind, he respected also 
the understandings of his people, and deeming it his 
duty and his privilege, not to have dominion over 
their faith, but a helper of their joy. Instead of in- 
sisting on his own doubtful speculations, and doting 
about questions and strifes of words, he admonished 
them on these points, to examine and decide for 
themselves, whilst he taught them the words 'of our 
Lord Jesus Christ — the doctrine according to god- 
liness.' The transactions of this day, the unanimity 
with which they have elected his successor, furnish 
a better eulogium on his conduct than my poor lan- 
guage can bestow, and must fill his heart with a joy 
which ' no man taketh from him.' It is not his only 
eulogium. How many hearts will respond when I 
say so ; hearts which have been warmed and cheered 
and soothed and made better by his influence. 

I congratulate you on entering into his labors in 
one of the pleasantest villages of New England, and 
among an enlightened, united, moral, and, 1 know 
not but I may add, religious people. That many of 



THEIR THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS. 265 

them have felt the power of religion I am persuaded, 
— and, if any have not, may you be the blessed in- 
strument of bringing conviction to their minds, and 
of carrying on, under the sanctifying influences of 
the Holy Spirit, the work of conversion in their 
hearts. 

The providence of God, wise, but afflictive, pre- 
vented their late minister * from performing, as fully 
as his own judgment and inclination would have 
prompted, a part of the pastoral duty, which, if God 
gives you the ability, I doubt not, you will assidu- 
ously fulfil. 

In the last interview of the apostle Paul with the 
elders of Ephesus, he reminded them that he had 
6 taught them publicly, and from house to house.' 
It is an essential part of a minister's duty to ' know 
the state of his flock,' and in order to this, to have 
frequent personal intercourse with them. I remind 
you of this, my brother; and earnestly urge it 
upon your attention. Be to this people a faithful, 
affectionate, confidential friend; rejoicing in their 
joy, and in their afflictions, afflicted ; instructing, 
counselling, admonishing, reproving, ' in season and 
out of season,' with all ' long-suffering and gentle- 
ness.' Then, l when the eye sees you, it will bless 
you ; when the ear hears you, it will bear witness 
to you ; ' you will have the testimony of your own 
conscience to your fidelity, and the approbation of 
your God. 

* Dr Wiilfml. 
vol. i. 23 



SERMON XIV. 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 

[Preached at the Ordination of a Minister in Newburyport, 1831.] 
Luke ix. 60. — go thou and preach the kingdom op god. 

Such, fathers and brethren, ministers of religion, 
is our commission. I propose, in your presence, to 
consider its meaning, and, though I may not hope 
to say anything which, to your superior wisdom, 
will afford instruction, yet it may be that our young 
brother, to whom this commission is about to be 
given, may gather up some truths which will serve 
as landmarks in the course of his future ministry. 

How are we to understand the commission, 
1 Preach the kingdom of God ? ' Let Scripture 
be the interpreter of Scripture. ' The kingdom of 
God is righteousness and peace and joy in the 
Holy Ghost.' ' The kingdom of God cometh not 
with observation, for the kingdom of God is within 
you.' The kingdom of God, then, is a spiritual 
kingdom. It is a kingdom in the hearts of men. 
Jesus Christ left the kingdoms of this world as he 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 267 

found them. He did not interfere with the arrange- 
ments of human policy. He did nothing to impair, 
but everything to strengthen, the reciprocal obliga- 
tions of rulers and ruled. His kingdom was not of 
this world. He left the systems of human philos- 
ophy as he found them. He left the natural sci- 
ences to the investigation and decision of natural 
reason. He did not interfere, — where they had 
no moral influence, — with the speculations, the 
superstitions, or the prejudices of mankind. Moral 
darkness covered the face of the earth. He came 
to dispel it ; to pour light upon the path of duty ; 
and to open on the eye of faith at the termination 
of that path, a world of unclouded moral light and 
splendor. 

Look at the state of the world when he ap- 
peared on earth. Not at the most barbarous and 
degraded portions of it, but at the most enlighten- 
ed ; at those polished and civilized nations whose 
works have borne testimony, even in our times, to 
the height to which they had attained in science 
and the arts ; — the Egyptians, the Romans, and the 
Greeks. A moral darkness, more dense, and incon- 
ceivably more dreadful, than the natural darkness 
which had once covered the face of one of these 
countries, had settled on them all. They could dis- 
cern, indeed, the sun, the moon and the stars ; they 
could look abroad upon the earth, and behold the 
characters of power and wisdom and goodness 
which were stamped upon all, but they had not 
learned to form these characters into the name of 



268 GOSPEL PREACHING. 

God ; or, if they had any faint and feeble concep- 
tions of Him, i they worshipped Him not as God,' 
but, 'professing themselves to be wise, became 
fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible 
God into an image made like to corruptible man, 
and to four-footed beasts and creeping things ! ' 

There was, indeed, a moral miracle continually 
displayed ; — a bright and verdant spot in this des- 
ert ; — a light shining in darkness, though ' the dark- 
ness comprehended it not.' It was the little land 
of Judea, and the sacred flame of Divine truth 
which had early been lighted there, and had not 
yet gone out. Here were collected, if I may say 
so, all the rays of light which had escaped from the 
rest of the world. 

But how degraded and deplorable was the con- 
dition even of this favored people ! How ignorant 
were they of the true character of God! How 
ignorant of a future state ! How dimly was it 
shadowed forth in the books of their lawgivers, the 
minstrelsy of their poets, and the inspired writings 
of their seers ! How much had they corrupted the 
revelations which God had made to them ! ' The 
traditions of the elders ' had usurped the authority 
of the Word of God. Forms and ceremonies had 
taken the place of works of piety and charity ; the 
'anise, mint and cummin' of judgment, mercy 
and faith. ' It was a day of darkness and of gloom- 
iness, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the 
morning spread upon the mountains.' * 

Joel, ii. 2. 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 269 

c Through the mercy of God, the day-spring from 
on high appeared, to give light to them that sat in 
darkness and in the shadow of death ; to guide their 
feet into the way of peace ! ' There came a mes- 
senger from God, announcing that i the kingdom of 
God was at hand, preaching the baptism of repent- 
ance, and turning the hearts of the disobedient to 
the wisdom of the just!' The Son of God, the 
brightness of His glory, and the express image of 
His person, came to administer this spiritual king- 
dom ; to personify its spirituality, and present it 
embodied to the view of mankind. Men had be- 
come the subjects and slaves of the most degrading 
vices. He came to give them the means of free- 
dom; to free them from the dominion of sin, and 
bring them into subjection to the dominion of 
righteousness ; to free them ' from the power of Sa- 
tan,' and bring them into the service of God, whose 
i service is perfect freedom.' Such was the king- 
dom which he preached ; — a moral kingdom. He 
preached it in his instructions, from his first recorded 
discourse to his disciples on the mountain, 1 to that 
which he delivered in his last interview with them 
before he suffered. He preached it in his miracles, 
for they were acts of kindness and mercy, designed 
for the comfort or the improvement of those for 
whom they were wrought. He preached it in his 
life, for it was his ' meat to do the will of Him who 
sent Him,' and he ' went about doing good.' He 
preached it in his death, for he ' died for sinners ; ' 
' the just for the unjust ; ' < that they which live 
23* 



270 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 



should live henceforth not unto themselves, but to 
him that died for them and rose again.' 

Such, fathers and brethren, is the kingdom which 
he has commissioned us to preach. For, when his 
work on earth was finished, and he ascended up 
on high, he gave it in charge to c apostles and pro- 
phets, to evangelists and pastors and teachers,' to 
preach the same kingdom ; — ' repentance and re- 
mission of sins, to all nations, teaching them to 
observe all things whatsoever he had commanded.'' 

And the heaven had but just received him out 
of sight, when Peter preached it in that memo- 
rable sermon which was blessed to the conversion 
of three thousand souls, saying, ' Repent and be 
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' And Paul 
preached it, when he preached 'Jesus Christ and 
him crucified,' for i Christ is the end of the law 
for "righteousness" to every one that believeth.' 
Paul's commission was 'to turn men from dark- 
ness to light ; ' and how he understood and fulfill- 
ed it, we learn from himself. c Whereupon, I was 
not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but showed 
first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and 
throughout all the coast of Judea, and also to the 
Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, 
and do works meet for repentance? And James 
preached this kingdom when he said, 4 Pure re- 
ligion and undefiled, before God and the Father 
is this, to visit the ividow and fatherless in their 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 271 

affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
world.' ' The wisdom that is from above is first 
pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be en- 
treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without par- 
tiality and without hypocrisy.' And John preached 
it when he said ' This is the message we have 
heard of him and declare unto you, that God is 
light, and in Him is no darkness at all.' { If we say 
that we have fellowship with him, and walk in 
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we 
walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fel- 
lowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus 
Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.' And 
again, * This is His commandment, that we should 
believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and 
love one another. And he that keepeth His com- 
mandment dwelleth in Him 3 and he in Him ! ' ' If 
ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every 
one that doeth righteousness is born of Him.' 

This it is to preach the kingdom of God ; and they 
that preach this kingdom, preach the gospel. For, 
when Christ sent forth his twelve disciples ' to 
preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick,' it 
is said, ' they departed, and went through the towns 
preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.' 

It is not without reflection, and some claim to in- 
vestigation, that I say that the gospel is simply ' a 
doctrine according to godliness,' and that its reve- 
lations and its precepts, its promises and its insti- 
tutions, have reference to this, and to this only, 
as their great end. The faith of the gospel is a 



272 GOSPEL PREACHING. 

practical faith. It is not a speculation of the un- 
derstanding, but a virtue of the heart ; ' for with 
the heart man belie veth unto righteousness.' The 
preaching of the gospel, then, is practical preach- 
ing. 

The preaching of doctrinal theology, — in its 
common acceptation at least, — is not preaching 
the gospel ; for, however true and important to be 
preached, the doctrines may be, they are only the in- 
strument, — the means to the end ; — that end is the 
gospel; and that gospel is godliness. There are 
certain doctrines of theology, indeed, — perhaps I 
should rather say theology itself, in its strictest 
sense, — which are involved in the very idea of god- 
liness, which are inseparable from it, and without 
which it can have no existence. Such are the be- 
ing and perfections of God, and a future state 
of retribution. The divinity of Christ's mission is 
included in the very idea of preaching, for the com- 
mission to preach is derived from him, or there is 
no commission at all. 

Other theological doctrines, when they are sup- 
posed to be found in the Bible, may be taught, and, 
if they tend to promote godliness, must be taught, 
not as articles of faith, the belief of which is es- 
sential to salvation, but as motives to practice. 
There is here a distinction which seems to me to 
be of great moment, between what may be impor- 
tant, and what is essential to be believed. There 
is but one faith essential, — the faith of the heart. 
There may be many things important to the pro- 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 273 

duction of this faith. In regard to this, it is for 
every minister to judge and act for himself. He 
may keep back what doctrines he pleases, and pro- 
mulge what doctrines he pleases, if he is careful, 
according to his best judgment, to ' declare the 
whole counsel of God,' as Paul declared it ; — { I 
have kept back nothing that was profitable to you.' 

But here he will often find himself mistaken. 
The doctrines which promised the best fruits, will 
not always, when received, be productive of such 
fruits ; whilst, with those doctrines which were the 
most unpromising, there will appear ' fruit unto holi- 
ness,' and, of course, ' unto everlasting life.' He 
should be content with the fruit, though he may 
marvel at its production. 2 It is the only real test of 
character. ' By their fruits ye shall know them.' 
Not by the form of the tree, or the enclosure in 
which it grows, but by its fruit. If the fruit is 
good, some good seed must have fallen into good 
soil, and been nourished from heaven. The sun of 
God's Spirit must have warmed it, the dew of God's 
grace must have watered it, or it would not have 
germinated, and sprung up and fructified. There 
may, or may not, be in this case, an error in the 
faith of the understanding, but there is no error in 
the faith of the heart. I may condemn the theol 
ogy, but I cannot condemn the religion; and, for 
myself, I am free to say, — however much I may 
value the doctrines discarded, — I care more about 
the religion, than about the theology. 

I have spoken of theological preaching. The 



274 GOSPEL PREACHING. 

aspect of the Christian world, impels me to say a 
few words on the subject of theological controver- 
sy. I have no objection to it, if it is engaged in 
with good intentions, and managed with a good 
spirit. I object only to its being identified with re- 
ligion. I object to theological controversy being 
considered as religious controversy. There is not, 
has not been, and never can be, any controversy 
among Christians about religion. In this they are, 
and must be, agreed. Religion is humility, meek- 
ness, charity, piety. There is no controversy about 
these. It is improper, then, to say that Christians 
quarrel about their religion. That Christians quar- 
rel, is, alas ! too true. That they mistakenly call 
their controversies, — and bitter controversies, — 
religious controversies, is also true, — but they 
should learn better. The distinction once estab- 
lished, we should hear no more of religious dis- 
putes, and a powerful weapon would be wrested 
from the hands of infidelity. The controversies 
about theology should take their place with the 
controversies about the natural and moral sciences, 
treating of sublime and useful truths which have 
an intimate relation to piety, but not assuming to 
be fundamental truths, the reception or rejection of 
which determine the religious character here, or the 
eternal destination hereafter. Religion can have no 
part in scenes of strife and contention. It dwells 
above them, in a region where the sky is clear, 
where every storm is hushed, and all is serenity and 
peace. May it dwell in our hearts, that all may be 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 275 

peace and serenity there! It will be known to 
ourselves by its holy influence on our dispositions 
and feelings. It will be known to others by its 
holy fruits in our life and conversation. 

My Brother! You have heard your commis- 
sion. Receive it, as from the lips of your Master, 
and endeavor, according to the measure of your 
ability, like him to fulfil it. ' Go thou and preach 
the kingdom of God.' Preach it in simplicity ; that 
what is intelligible to you, may be intelligible to 
others. Preach it with directness and fervor ; that 
what is felt by you may be felt by others. Preach 
it in the silent but persuasive eloquence of a good 
life. Preach it in the houses of your people, as 
well as in the house of God. Preach it whenever 
and wherever it is proper and useful to do so. And 
may He, to whom alone it belongs to give success, 
vouchsafe His blessing ! 

Brethren and Friends of this Religious So- 
ciety ! I deem it not improper to say that it has 
given me no small satisfaction to be called to ad- 
dress you on this occasion. Descended, — with 
only one intervening, for more than a century, — 
from your first minister ; related, not remoteiy, to 
the second, and enjoying an affectionate friendship 
of many years, with the last, I feel myself connected 
with the foundation of your society, and with every 
period of its history, and thus associated with you 
in the bonds of more than common fellowship. 



276 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 



One hundred and five years ago, in a small build" 
ing surrounded by a few huts, the residence chiefly 
of fishermen, in that part of Newbury which bor- 
dered on the sea, and in the depth of # winter, a 
council was assembled to sanction the formation of 
a new church, and to ordain its minister. That 
church, then the third in Newbury, now the first in 
Newburyport, was the church which, at this beauti- 
ful season, in this commodious temple, and in the 
midst of a large and populous town, is to receive 
its fourth minister. It was not without opposition 
from the parent church,* that the parish 'by the 
water side/ as it was called^ was formed. It was 
small and feeble, and there seemed to be much 
probability in the prediction that its existence would 
be of short duration. The prediction was not veri- 
fied. It obtained a minister who, from the charac- 
ter given of him, had higher claims, but who was 
rewarded for his self-denial and sacrifices, by being 
permitted to witness the growth and prosperity of 
his parish, till it was the largest and most flourish- 
ing, in its neighborhood. The tree ' planted by the 
rivers of water ' took root and grew, and put forth 
its branches and bore fruit. ' Its leaf has not with- 
ered.' 

Oft the first minister, it becomes me not to speak 
but in the language of another. For your sakes, 
as well as my own, I will not refrain from saying 
that he is described by one who knew him well, and 

*The First church in Newbury. 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 277 

was himself one of the most eminent men of his 
day,* as l distinguished as a scholar and a gentle- 
man ; ' i acquainted with the polite arts and scien- 
ces ; ' ' of great reading and extensive knowledge ; ' 
as ' zealous for the honor of God, and the salvation 
of precious immortal souls;' as devoted in his pas- 
toral duty, faithful in his attention to the sick and 
afflicted, — having talents peculiarly adapted to the 
discharge of this office ; — and as evincing in his 
last moments, 'in a most affecting manner, the 
interest which his people had in his heart,' when 
reason had left its seat, and the heart only could 
dictate the language of affection. It is also said of 
him — and I mention it by itself, that it may be 
prominent in these days of exclusiveness, — that i he 
was a lover of good men, though of different de- 
nominations and differing sentiments.' I mention 
it by itself, too, that I may further say that, in this 
respect, this church, and this alone, of all the church- 
es with which it was associated in the early part, 
and middle, of the last century, has remained con- 
sistent from its first foundation. There was, at one 
period, on this river, a galaxy of wise and good 
men, which shed upon the churches the mild beams 
of Christian charity. These wise and good men 
are gone, and all, except in this church, have been 
succeeded by those, who, however much they may 
have of their wisdom and goodness, have not their 
liberality. Of the churches which attended the or- 

*Dr. Tucker. 
vol. i. 24 



278 GOSPEL PREACHING, 

dination of the first minister, only one, and of those 
which attended the ordination of the second minis- 
ter, only one, would have been present, if invited, 
on this occasion. Times indeed have changed, but 
men have changed with them. There are probably 
few, if any, who hold the distinguishing opinions of 
the Calvinistic fathers of New England, or of their 
Armenian successors. 3 Of the two great parties in 
the Congregational church, the relative position, as 
far as I know it, is about the same as it was for- 
merly, and charity is the same thing now that it 
was then. 

Your second minister was probably known to 
many of you. I knew him well, and can bear testi- 
mony, — as all who knew him can do, — to his good 
sense, his manly independence, his firm, unbending 
integrity, his warm affections, his liberal spirit, his 
singular disinterestedness ; his piety, strikingly ex- 
hibited in his patient endurance of the distressing 
malady which terminated his life. I can bear testi- 
mony, too, to the kindness and sympathy and gen- 
erosity of his people, whose kindness and generosity 
indeed, through the whole period of their existence 
as a society, have kept pace with their charity. 

Of the last minister, I may only say that he 
retires from his ministry respected and beloved ; 
having 'the testimony of his conscience that in 
simplicity and godly sincerity he has had his con- 
versation in the world.' 

Brethren ! I have spoken freely of your history, 
and I have felt that I had a right to do so. I stand 



GOSPEL PREACHING. 279 

among the graves of my fathers of many genera- 
tions ; near the spot which, to filial affection, is con- 
secrated as the birth-place of a parent ; and have an 
interest in the welfare of your society which, I may 
be permitted to say, is not inferior to your own. 

We have called up the visions of the past and 
the memory of the pious dead. "We turn to the 
visions of the future. The visions of the future! 
Ah ! who can tell what the reality will be ? Who 
can unfold the book of God's providence, and read 
the page on which is written the history of this new 
ministry ? The visions of the future ! They are 
bright. May they be realized! May your young 
minister be faithful and zealous and unwearied in 
his labors for your spiritual benefit, and God grant 

THAT HE MAY NOT LABOR IN VAIN ! 



NOTES. 



Note 1. Page 269. 

In a sermon,* preached some time since, I expressed the opinion 
which I believe was new, and which ought, therefore, to be expressed 
with diffidence, that the ' Sermon on the Mount ' was addressed only 
to the disciples, and not to the multitude. I inferred this from the 
manner in which it was introduced, and from the nature of the dis- 
course itself. ' And seeing the multitude, he went ' (away from 
them) 'into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came 
unto him, and he taught them.' This view affords an easy expla- 
nation of the passages, ' Take no thought for the morrow, e Resist 
not evil,' &c. They were to cast themselves on Providence. They 
had discarded their fishing-nets, and were gone forth to be ' fishers 
of men.' He who cared for the ravens, cared much more for them. 
They were to seek first the kingdom of God, and all other things 
would be added thereunto. They were to ' take nothing for their 
journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread nor money.' They 
were not even to premeditate what they should speak, e for the Spirit 
of their Father ' was to ' speak in ' them. I think, that, on examina- 
tion the intelligent reader will perceive that all the passages in the 
gospels of the nature of those I have quoted, are said to be ad- 
dressed to the disciples. There is no doubt they are given to us for 
our moral instruction ; but not to be interpreted literally, as they 
were to be by the first disciples of Christ. It is true that, at the 
conclusion of the ' Sermon on the Mount,' it is said * the people were 
astonished at his doctrine,' but it is also true, as will be seen by con- 
sulting Griesbach, that ' all ' may be substituted for ' people ' in this 
passage. 

* This sermon will be found in the volume of ' Practical Sermons,' recently pub- 
lished by the author of this volume. (1855.) 



NOTES. 281 

Note 2. Page 273. 

I cannot understand how any one can reject a brother for his 
opinions, when, 'in the judgment of charity,' his heart is right 
before God.* Will it be said, 'Without faith it is impossible to 
please God ? ' But what is the faith here referred to ? ' He that 
cometh to God, must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder 
of them that diligently seek him.' Will it be said that without a 
certain mode of faith, the heart cannot be right ? I answer that the 
experience of more than twenty-five years, as a minister, has taught 
me another lesson. 

I do not think it a matter of indifference what doctrines are taught 
and believed ; but, if I see good fruit, I rejoice in it, and partake, 
as far as I can, of its benefits, ' asking no questions for conscience 
sake.' I much admire a saying which is reported of Whitefield, 
whose ashes repose in the town where this sermon was preached, 
and which is not inapplicable in this connection. It relates to the 
question of the origin of sin. l If, on awaking in the night, you 
find your house in flames, do you run about inquiring where it 
caught, — in the cellar or the garret ? No, — your first object is to 
put out the fire. So let it be with your sins. Put out the fire, and 
then it will be time enough to inquire how it was kindled.' 

Of the Catholicism, as well as good sense and decision, of the first 
minister of this church, who was more Calvinistic in his opinions 
than some of his neighbors, there is an instance related which de- 
serves to be recorded. 

Before the middle of the last century, a council was called to con- 
sider the expediency of dismissing Mr. Barnard, then the minister of 
a church in Newbury. Its expediency was determined on, and the 
question occurred on giving him a recommendation as a minister. 
To this, one of the council objected, unless he should ascertain, on 
inquiry, that Mr. Barnard was a believer of the doctrine of the 
Trinity. Mr. Lowell rose, with much emotion, and addressing the 
moderator, said, • If that question is put, sir, I shall leave the room, 
and take no more part in this Council.' The question was not put. 
Mr. Barnard, ' one of the most profound, liberal and excellent men 

* Did not Solomon, in Proverbs iv. 23, whilst inculcating a moral precept, allude 
to what has been supposed to be a modern discovery, of the circulation of the 
blood from the heart ? 
24* 



282 NOTES. 

of his profession,' was afterwards ordained over the first church in 
Salem, and was the father of the late excellent Dr. Barnard, of that 
town. There is a curious old painting in the possession of the young- 
est son of the author of this sermon, representing a meeting of the 
Association of Ministers at the house of Mr. Lowell. Over his head 
is inscribed the following motto : e In necessariis, unitas j In non 
necessariis, libertas ; In utrisque, charitas.' 

Note 3. Page 278. 

How are we to understand those ministers among us, who say that 
they hold the faith of the fathers of New England, and, on the 
strength of this, call themselves ( Orthodox ' ? I hear them talking 
of the c concealment ' and want of ingenuousness of their Unitarian 
brethren (with whose ingenuousness, or disingenuousness I have no 
concern) : but what do they mean themselves by the claim they 
assert to be disciples of the fathers of New England ? I ask this in 
kindness, in sincerity", and with deep solemnity, for it perplexes me 
more than anything else in the conduct of my brethren. It is 
my belief that they are not as near the opinion of the Calvinistic 
ministers of the beginning of the last century, as the Arminians 
were, with whom those ministers contended. That they use the 
same terms I know ; but that they mean the same thing I do not 
know. Do they hold the doctrine of the Trinity ; of original sin ; or 
of the atonement, as the first ministers of New England held them ? 
Do they believe at all in the doctrine of the imputation of Adam's 
sin ; or of particular, unconditional election ; or that, in the language 
of the Assembly's Catechism, ' God has foreordained whatsoever 
shall come to pass ? ' And do they not know that the rejection, or 
essential modification, of either of these doctrines, would have occa- 
sioned the exclusion from Christian fellowship and communion of 
the person thus rejecting or modifying them ? 

On the subject of foreordination, to which I have alluded, I would 
make one remark. It has been found difficult to reconcile the free 
agency of man with the foreknowledge of God. This difficulty seems 
to me to arise from the improper use of language. There is no such 
thing as foreknowledge with God. All things, past, present and to 
come, are, at the same moment, passing under his view. That which 
to us is future, to Him is present. We are actually doing now, in His 
sight, what we shall clo, if we are alive, the next year ; and it would 



NOTES. 283 

be absurd to say that God foreordains an action at the same moment 
that He beholds it. A difficulty which has sometimes been urged 
with respect to prayer, may find, I think, a solution in this idea. 
God does not change His intentions when He forgives us on repent- 
ance and faith in Christ. The transgression and the prayer of con- 
trition, are at the same moment before Him. 

The above sentiment respecting foreordination, was advanced in 
his own pulpit by the author, sometime before the first publication 
of this sermon. He is not aware that it had ever been before ad- 
vanced. To him it is satisfactory, and it may be so to others. 



APPENDIX. 



The following information relating to the first church in New- 
buryport, was furnished chiefly by Dr. Andrews. 

The first house of worship was erected in the autumn of 1725 ; fin- 
ished June, 1726 , dedicated 25th of the same month. 

It was enlarged, 1736. The third church in Newbury, now the 
first in Newburyport, was gathered by Mr. Cushing of Salisbury, 
January 15th, 1726 ; and on the 19th of the same month, John 
Lowell, A. M., a native of Boston, was ordained their minister. 
He died May 15th, 1767, in the 64th year of his age, and 42d of his 
ministry. The ancestors of Mr. Lowell were among the first settlers 
of Newbury. During his ministry, baptisms, 2229 ; marriages, 
417 ; admissions into the church, 515. The churches sent for to 
assist in the ordination of Mr. Lowell, were the first in Boston, the 
second in Salisbury, second in Newbury, church in Byfield, New- 
bury. Mr. Cushing was chosen moderator. The ordination solem- 
nities were as follows : Mr. Tufts of Newbury, began with prayer; 
Mr. Foxcroft of Boston, preached from 2 Cor. xii. 14, 15 ; Mr. Cush- 
ing of Salisbury, gave the Charge ; Mr. Hale of Newbury, the Right 
Hand of Fellowship. No mention of an Ordaining Prayer. Mr. Top- 
pan, minister of the first church in Newbury, could not be prevailed 
upon to act in any of the affairs of the day. 

Thomas Cary, A. M., a native of Charlestown, was ordained May 
11th, 1768, and taken from his stated labors March 9th, 1788, by a 
paralytic disorder. He died Nov. 24th, 1808. Baptisms, during 
his ministry, 834 ; marriages, 397 ; admissions into the church, 51. 
Before Mr. Cary's settlement, the society was divided ; about one- 



APPENDIX. 285 

third separated, formed another parish, and settled afterward Rev. 
Mr. Marsh. The churches sent for to ordain Mr. Cary were as 
follows : Messrs. Abbott and Prentice of Charlestown ; Tucker, 
Johnson and Hale of Newbury ; Webster* and Noyes of Salisbury ; 
Barnard and Parker of Haverhill ; Barnard of Salem ; AYingate of 
Amesbury ; Wingate of Hampton Falls, N. H. ; Thayer of Hampton, 
N. H. ; Hastings of Northhill, N. H. ; Fogg of Kensington j Coffin 
of Kingston, N. H. ; Odling of Exeter, N. H. All attended, except 
Abbott of Charlestown, and Barnard of Salem. The Ordination 
solemnities were as follows : The Rev. Mr. Johnson of Newbury, 
began with prayer ; Mr. Barnard of Haverhill, preached from 2 Cor. 
xii. 15-18 ; Mr. Wingate of Amesbury, gave the Charge ; Mr. 
Prentice of Charlestown, the Right hand of Fellowship ; Mr. Fogg 
of Kensington, concluded with prayer. No mention is made of an 
Ordaining Prayer. 

John Andrews, A. M., a native of Hingham, ordained Dec. 10th, 
1788, colleague with Mr. Cary. Resigned his connection with the 
first religious society as their pastor, May 1st, 1830 ; but continued, 
by the unanimous desire of the church, to administer the ordinance 
of the supper till the settlement of his successor. Baptisms during 
his ministry, 1026 ; admissions into the church, 82 ; marriages, 
373. 

The churches sent for to ordain Mr. Andrews, were as follows : First, 
Second and Third churches in Newbury ; First and Second churches 
in Salisbury ; the church in Kensington, N. H. ; the church in New- 
town, N. H.; church in Hampton, N. H.; church in North Hampton, 
N. H. ; First and Second churches in Hingham ; First and Second 
churches in Cambridge ; the West and New North church in Boston ; 
the church in Waltham ; the church in Lexington ; and the North 
church in Salem. All attended, except Mr. Webster of Salisbury, 
Mr. Eames of Newtown, N. H., and Mr. Fiske of Cambridge. 

The Ordination and its solemnities were as follows : Mr. Fogg, 
chosen moderator ; Mr. Clark of Lexington, began with prayer ; 



* The memory of this man should be honored for having, as early as 1759, pub- 
lished an earnest address to his countrymen against slavery. In it he uses this 
language : ' Now keep your eyes upon the Christian law of love, and reconcile 
common slavery with it, and I will undertake to reconcile light with darkness, and 
Christ with Belial. Let a man love his neighbor, and do as he would be done by, 
and if he make a slave upon this plan, I will venture to be his slave forever,' &c. 



286 APPENDIX. 

Mr. Hilliard of Cambridge, preached from Philippians, i. 17 ; Mr. 
Cushing of Waltham, made the Ordaining Prayer ; Mr. Shute of 
Hingham, gave the Charge j Dr. Tucker of Newbury gave the Right 
Hand of Fellowship ; Mr. Fogg made the Concluding Prayer. 

Thomas B. Fox, A. M., a native of Boston, ordained August 3d, 
1831. The churches sent for were : South church in Portsmouth, 
N. H. ; church in West Cambridge ', Second church in Dover ; Congre- 
gational church in Salisbury and Amesbury ; church in Watertown ; 
Independent Congregational church in Salem ; First church in Bever- 
ly \ First church in Waltham ; church in Andover j First church in 
Brookline ; West church in Boston ; First church in Dorchester ; Rev. 
Dr. Harris ; First church in Concord ; First church in Roxbury ; 
First church in Salem ; church in Hollis street, Boston ) Hollis Pro- 
fessor of Divinity, Cambridge ; Federal street church, Boston ; 
Second church in Salem ; North church in Salem. 

The ordination and its solemnities were as follows : Dr. Harris 
was chosen moderator, Mr. Damon, scribe ; Mr. Putnam of Rox- 
bury, made the Introductory Prayer ; Mr. Goodwin of Concord, 
selected portions of scripture ; Dr. Lowell preached the sermon ; Dr. 
Parker of Portsmouth, offered the Ordaining Prayer j Dr. Pierce of 
Brookline, gave the Charge ; Mr. Francis of Watertown, addressed 
the society ; Mr. Damon of Amesbury, made the Concluding Prayer. 

The house of worship, in which the first religious society now 
meet, was finished in the autumn of 1801, and dedicated Oct. 1st, 
1801. Sermon by Mr. Andrews, from Psalm 100, verse 4th. 



APPENDIX. 287 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL 

Relative to the Dissolution of the Connection of Dr. Andrews, as 
Pastor of the First church in Newburyport. 

The ecclesiastical council convened in Newburyport, August 3d, 
1831, in consequence of letters missive from the First church and 
society in Newburyport, for the purpose of ordaining Mr. Thomas 
B. Fox, and introducing him to the pastoral office in said church and 
society, and also for the purpose of sanctioning the dissolution of the 
connection of Dr. Andrews, as pastor of said church and religious 
society, and giving him suitable testimonials of his religious and 
ministerial character. After they were organized by choosing the 
Rev. Dr. Harris, as moderator, and Mr. Damon, as scribe, — the 
moderator having addressed the throne of grace in prayer, — Dr. 
Lowell, Rev. Messrs. Colman and Ripley, were appointed a com- 
mittee of the council to confer with Dr. Andrews, and the committee 
of the church and society, upon that part of the Letter Missive re- 
lating to Dr. Andrews. The committee, after retiring and conferring 
with Dr. Andrews and the committee of the church and society, 
returned and made the following report : — 

The ecclesiastical council, assembled at Newburyport, by request 
of the First church and religious society, to assist at the ordination 
of Mr. Thomas B. Fox, having, at the desire of the parties con- 
cerned, referred to a committee of said council, the subject matter 
of the dissolution of the connection of their former pastor, Dr. An- 
drews, the said committee beg leave to report : — That upon due 
examination, they find said dissolution was mutual, harmonious and 
honorable to both parties. They bear a willing testimony to the just 
and proper conduct of the society, — and a testimony equally cheer- 
ful and cordial, to the proper and blameless conduct of the pastor, 
Dr. Andrews, in the above transaction. They feel that they should 
be doing themselves and his brethren and friends an injustice, did 
they not at the same time express their sincere and entire respect and 
esteem for his character, for his exemplary life, for his assiduous and 
conscientious ministry, for his eminently Christian deportment to- 
wards this religious society, in the transaction above alluded to, and 
his kind intercourse with his former church and people since the 



288 



APPENDIX. 



legal dissolution of his ministerial connection j — and they humbly 
commit this aged and respected minister, in the decline of life, and 
the late people of his charge, in the new relation upon which they 
are about to enter, to the blessing of God. 

CHARLES LOWELL, ) 

HENRY COLMAN, V Committee. 

SAMUEL RIPLEY, ) 

Voted, in council, unanimously, that this report be accepted, and 
to recommend that a copy of it should be entered upon the records 
of the church and society. 

A true copy from the records of the First church. 

THOMAS B. FOX, 
Pastor of the First Church and Society in Newburyport. 
Newburyport, August 16th, 1831. 



SERMON XV, 



BRIEF REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

[Preached August 3, 1845.] 
Deuteronomy viii. 2. thou shalt remember all the way which 

THE LORD THY GOD LED THEE THESE FORTY YEARS. 

There are seasons in the life of every one of us, 
when a retrospective view of life, of what we have 
done for our own good or the good of others, as 
well as what of duty we have left undone, comes 
home upon the mind with peculiar force. These 
seasons often occur in the life of a minister, and, 
though he should avoid a too frequent recurrence 
to them in the pulpit, yet an occasional reference 
may be neither uninteresting nor useless. 

Had it pleased God that I should have been 
with you a Sabbath or two since, I should have 
told you that, in the week previous, forty years 
had been completed since I first preached in this 
parish. What I then intended to say, I purpose 
now to say, in the freedom of colloquial address, 
rather than in the language of a labored discourse. 
To this, the circumstances and recollections of this 
occasion naturally impel me. They lead me to 
consider myself as in the midst of my family, 

vol. i. 25 



290 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

speaking to familiar friends, with many of whom I 
have long been connected ; a large portion of whom 
have grown up under my ministry, are as my chil- 
dren, and, till lately, have known no other as their 
minister. I may not dwell on the happiness I feel 
in the new relation which they and myself sustain 
to an associate pastor. 

It was in a small wooden edifice, occupying in- 
deed the spot on which we are now assembled, but 
then standing almost alone, in the outskirts of the 
town, with few buildings between the church and 
the river, that I preached my first sermon here. It 
had much the aspect, as far as I now remember, of 
a country church, within and without, with a few 
houses in its neighborhood, and others, scattered 
here and there in the fields, in what was then called 
* New Boston.' 

It was to a parish consisting, I think, of about 
forty proprietors, and less than a hundred families, 
that that sermon was preached. Yet it was a par- 
ish to whom, at my ordination, it was said, c Your 
history has been illustrious, and we honor you, 
whilst we venerate your pastors.' 

I well remember the day, and something, it may 
be, of my emotions, as I ascended the green emi- 
nence on which the church stood, by one of the 
many paths which in seventy years had been mark- 
ed out by the footsteps of the worshippers who had 
' gone up in company ' to the house of God. I had 
just returned from pursuing my studies abroad,* 

*In Edinburgh, Scotland. 



REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 291 

after an absence of two years. It was the place of 
my nativity to which I had returned ; but in this 
parish I was an entire stranger. I had probably- 
had intercourse only with the officer of the church 
who was employed to ask for my services, who is 
long since numbered with the dead, — if they can 
be said to die, who truly live ! — and whose mem- 
ory (with that of how many others !) is very pre- 
cious to me. 

My predecessor was one of the last persons I 
had seen before I left my country. I have a vivid 
remembrance of the good old man, ' simple, grave, 
sincere.' He said to me, • You will probably return 
to take the place of one of us.' It was appointed, 
in "the providence of God, that I should take his 
place. Would that a larger portion of the spirit of 
the ascended Elijah had fallen, with his mantle, on 
his immediate successor ! 

Few, very few, are among the living on earth, 
who heard my first sermon. Of those who were 
recorded as proprietors, only two ; both with us in 
spirit, though only one in person. May a life so 
honorable and so dear, be yet far extended ! Of the 
heads of families, of both sexes, five or six remain. 
Of those who were ministers in the town at that 
time, not one. I am the oldest in standing of the 
ministers of all denominations by more than six 
years. Of about a hundred who had preceded me 
in the ministry in the town, since its settlement, four- 
teen only had as long a ministry as mine has been. 
Of the thirteen ministers who were on the council 



292 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

at my ordination, only one is living;* of those who 
officiated on that occasion, not one. One of the 
earliest taken was the youngest, my classmate and 
friend,f who breathed the wish, i that our gracious 
Master, who, when he was on earth, sent forth his 
seventy evangelists, by two and two, to preach the 
gospel in Judea, would send us forth together by 
his authority, would permit us to travel in com- 
pany through a useful ministry, and would enable 
us to return to his presence at last, rejoicing to find 
that our names had been written, with the names 
of our people, in the Book of Life.' How short 
was our journey together! How brief, yet how 
brilliant, was his ministry, on earth! In the best 
portion of his devout aspiration, may it yet be ful- 
filled! 

The theme of my discourse on the day to which 
I have referred, was from the fourth chapter of Phi- 
lippians, and the words were, ' Rejoice in the Lord 
alway ; and again I say, Rejoice? 

Such was the text of the first sermon which I 
preached in this parish. It was my object in that 
sermon to portray the beneficial influence of re- 
ligion on the character and happiness of man ; and 
the concluding exhortation was in the spirit of the 
text, Rejoice in the Lord alway, — in joy and in 
sorrow, in prosperity and adversity, in riches and 
poverty, in health and sickness, in life and death. 

*Dr. Pierce of Brookline, now deceased (1855). 
f Mr. Buckininster, who died June 9, 1812. 



REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 293 

As I then presented religion to you, in the garb 
of cheerfulness and not of melancholy ; as the in- 
spirer of peace and hope, and not of wretchedness 
and despair; so, — you will bear me witness, — I 
have always presented it. As I then exhorted those 
who heard me to rejoice in the Lord alway, so have 
I exhorted you to do in all the varied circumstan- 
ces of your lives. I have directed you to God as 
your Father and your best friend, and — as our 
religion presents him to us — as ' God in Christ, 
reconciling the world to Himself.' I have exhorted 
you to go to Him, through Christ, as your only se- 
cure refuge, and have assured you that none who 
went by that way should in any wise be cast out. 

So did I begin, and so would I end, my preach- 
ing. ' Rejoice in the LorU alway? And what an 
abundant source of rejoicing is opened to us in 
that religion which teaches us to rejoice in God! 
How often, — little as it seems to me that I have 
been instrumental in effecting in this 'already long 
ministry, — how often have I seen the influence 
of this religion in refining, purifying, sanctifying, 
elevating the soul of the believer ; in soothing 
sorrow, sometimes indescribably great, and which 
nothing else could soothe ; in reconciling, and more 
than reconciling, to death, where there was every 
thing to inspire the wish to live ! But religion, — 
faith in God and in Christ, — had given the hope 
of a better world, and death was ' swallowed up of 
life.' Blessed hope ! Hold it fast, my friends ! Do 
not let it go ! If we deceive you we are ourselves 

25* 



294 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

deceived. And, — were it so, — blessed delusion! 
But it is not so. We do not deceive you, and 
we are not deceived. We have a sure and firm 
foundation for our hope in Christ. We have this 
hope. Without it, we should indeed be miserable. 

In my preaching, I have dwelt but little on points 
of doubtful disputation. The opinion I gave many 
years ago, * in reference to a minister's duty in this 
respect, I repeat as my opinion now. ' He is bound 
to elucidate, as far as he is able, and may deem 
useful, the doctrines of the gospel ; but the gospel 
itself, as a comprehensive whole, is " a doctrine ac- 
cording to godliness," and no elucidation need be 
attempted by which this is not promoted.' To me 
it seems that the essential doctrines of religion are 
few and simple. I confess I consider religion itself 
as a very simple thing ; as consisting much more in 
practice than in theory ; as having much more to 
do with the affections than with the understanding ; 
with the heart than with the head. The Christian 
religion treats, indeed, of truths the most sublime. 
It furnishes scope for the exercise of the highest in- 
tellectual powers. It has shed light on the most 
interesting subjects of speculation, ' and thereby 
greatly enlarged the limits of human knowledge. 
It has been the great instrument for raising the in- 
tellectual as well as the moral condition of man- 
kind ; for enlightening as well as reforming the 
world. Its service, too, is a reasonable service. Its 

* Sermon at an Ordination in 1820. 



REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 295 

exercises and its exhibitions must be under the con- 
trol and guidance of reason ; but, in my opinion, it 
does consist much, very much, in exercises and ex- 
hibitions, — in the exercise of holy affections, and 
the exhibition of a holy life. Of the truth and im- 
portance of the distinction I have heretofore made 
between theology and religion,* I am more and 
more convinced. However important may be the- 
ology as an instrument, — as the means of promot- 
ing religion, — it is not our theology, but our relig- 
ion, that will save us, — the religion of the heart. 
' With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, 5 
and then 'with the tongue maketh confession to 
salvation.' ' If ye know that he is righteous, ye 
know that every one that doeth righteousness is 
born of him.' 

It was a moral kingdom which Jesus Christ 
came to establish on earth, a kingdom in the hearts 
of men. ' The kingdom of God is within you.' 
He declares the first commandment to be ' love to 
God,' and the second commandment to be ' love to 
man,' and that i on these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets.' Often — how often 
— have I witnessed the efficacy of this love, when 
all the labor I could exert could give little or no 
distinct notion of what are commonly called the 
' doctrines of religion,' and where what was learned 
to-day was forgotten to-morrow. But there was 
love to God and love to man; there was a hope 

* Sermon at an Ordination in 1829, and Sermon at an Ordination 
in 1831. 



296 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

full of immortality, a hope which entered 'with- 
in the veil,' and was, therefore, ' an anchor to the 
soul sure and steadfast.' 

I came into the ministry unfettered and unpledg- 
ed, except to do what I might, by the blessing of 
God, to promote the interests of religion, and the 
virtue and happiness of this society.* I came into 
a church strictly independent. I know not that I 
have done anything, in word or deed, to bring the 
church or myself in bondage to any one. I came 
here at a period when the churches were at peace. 
Parties have been formed ; war has raged. I have 
joined none of the parties ; I have had no share 
in the contest ; unless, indeed, in essaying to throw 
oil on the waters of strife, and in lifting now and 
then my feeble voice to say ' Sirs, ye are brethren ; 
why do ye strive ? ' 

If I have joined no party, it was because I re- 
membered the words of an apostle, — 'It hath been 
declared unto me that there are contentions among 
you. Every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I 
of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is 
Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or 
were ye baptized in the name of Paul ? Who is 
Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom 
ye believed ? Let no man glory in men, whether 
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas. Ye are Christ's, and 
Christ is God's.' It was, further, because in some 
things I agreed with all parties, — in all things with 

♦Letter accepting the call of the parish. 



REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 297 

none; and, adopting not their creed, I took not 
their name.* As I have understood the doctrines 
and precepts of the Bible, I have taught them not 
concerning myself in this matter, about the opin- 
ions or practices of others, and holding myself 
amenable only to my people, my conscience and 
my God. I have not sought for dominion over 
other men's faith, and I have suffered no one to 
have dominion over my own faith, — 'no, not for 
an hour.' 

Within less than a year after my first sermon 
here was preached, the old church, consecrated by 
so many prayers, and hallowed by so many sacred 
recollections, was taken down, and the church in 
which we now worship erected in its place. Dear 
to my remembrance is that modest structure, asso- 
ciated with my first consecration to the service of 
God in His church, and with the memory of those 
who gave me so united and earnest a welcome to 
that service. Fain, if it might have been so, would 
I have still retained it, and preached my last ser- 
mon where I preached the first, in the desk of 
which it was said, in the eloquent service at my 
ordination,! ' the desk in which Mayhew and How- 
ard have stood, is privileged above the common 
walks of public instruction.' 

There was a large accession of worshippers on 
the erection of the new church, and the parish, dur- 

* The reasons for this course are given at some length in a Dedi- 
cation Sermon, published in 1828. 

t Mr. 'Buckminster's Right Hand of Fellowship. 



298 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS, 

ing the greater part of my ministry, consisted of 
from three to four hundred families. Circumstan- 
ces also brought under my care the largest part of 
that portion of the population who were destitute 
of a stated ministry ; so that I was for several years 
the ' minister at large,' in fact, though not in name, 
having, at the same time, the care of a parish as 
large, at least, as any in the city. 

There were demands upon me, for ministerial ser- 
vices, from every quarter, and from every class of 
society, by day and by night. My slumbers in the 
night were broken by calls to the sick and dying. 
Not seldom I have been obliged to find my way 
through dark and narrow passages to minister, in 
their sickness and death, their penitence and fearful 
forebodings, to the most degraded and abandoned, 
of whom there were not a few in a remote section 
of the part of the city in which I lived. I could 
not portray in language the heart-rending scenes I 
have witnessed. Ah, how fearful will be the ac- 
count they must render of whose unhallowed passions 
and cruel artifices these sufferers were the miserable 
victims ! 

In performing these painful and wearisome la- 
bors, ' necessity was laid upon me.' I did no more 
than common humanity would lead me to do, and 
all I did, was done with the prompting and in the 
strength of Him who is the Author of all good 
designs, and whose ' strength is made perfect in 
weakness.' 



REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 299 

The burden which' had thus devolved upon me 
was greater than I could bear, and the impaired 
state of my health led, by the advice of the parish, 
to my fixing my residence in the country. The 
number of churches, in the mean time, was multi- 
plied, and there was less necessity for my extra ser- 
vices. From these extra services my removal, in a 
great measure, released me, though I continued to 
perform my appropriate parochial duties as usual. 

The Sunday School in this parish, which I deem 
a blessing to it, is the oldest in the city. Its germ 
was our Charity School, which, though dead, yet 
works for good, by the funds which had accumu- 
lated through the judicious conduct of its manag- 
ers, and the benefaction of that excellent woman,* 
to whom, as a parish, we are indebted for our 
largest pecuniary legacy. Till the opening of the 
Sunday School, I was accustomed to catechize the 
children statedly in the vestry. 

Other societies have, doubtless, been as harmoni- 
ous as ours. None could be more so. What I 
said twenty-five years since,f I can repeat to-day, 
— and may it still be repeated to the end of time ! 
' No vote is on record, either in the church or 
society, that indicates the smallest deviation from 
perfect good will.' 

"Whilst I ' remember,' as I trust with devout grat- 
itude, ' all the way which the Lord hath led me 
these forty years,' I remember too, — how can I 



# Mrs. Derby. fNote to Historical Sermon, 1820. 



300 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

forget it, or fail to speak of it ? — your undeviating 
kindness and liberality ; the forbearance you have 
exercised towards my infirmities and deficiencies ; 
the confidence you have reposed in me, the affec- 
tion you have shown me, the kind sentiments in 
regard to my ministry you have entertained and 
expressed ; the generosity you have exhibited, far 
dearer and more grateful to me than any pecuniary 
compensation by which that generosity has been 
manifested. God, who knoweth all things, know- 
eth how much I have you in my heart to live and 
to die with you ; to do what I may, in the little 
time that yet remains to me, for your best good. 

I have ever felt, and have been anxious you 
should feel, that there is a close and intimate con- 
nection between a minister and his people, and 
that as he should never be inattentive to the lowest 
whisper of distress, or the feeblest demand for pas- 
toral duty, so they should never hesitate to ask for 
any service they may desire at his hands. There is 
no apology to be made to him for calling upon him 
for the discharge of his duty, and no thanks to be 
given him for that which, if he feels as he ought to 
feel, is his highest happiness. Never take it for 
granted, in your sickness or your sorrow, that your 
minister must needs have been informed of it. If 
he had been, he would have been with you to ex- 
press the sympathy he feels, and to do you what- 
ever service he might. 

Is it amiss for me, in this connection, to say that 
I am not conscious of having ever heard of sick- 



REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 301 

ness or trouble in any of your families, that I have 
not gone to do what it became me as your minister 
to do ; or, that I have ever known of any consid- 
erable accession to the sources of your happiness, 
that I have not rejoiced with you in your joy, and 
endeavored to lead you to a grateful improvement 
of the goodness of God to you? One thing more 
I may claim to say, that my pastoral visits have 
never been spent in idle gossiping. I have aimed to 
make them useful, however much I may have failed 
to do so. A minister of religion, I have felt that it 
became me to teach religion, not only ' publicly,' 
but from 4 house to house,' — to ' watch for souls,' 

— God forgive me that I have not been more faith- 
ful! — ' as one who must give an account.' 

And now, my beloved friends, let me remind you 
that i God requireth that ivliich is pasV Of me, 
an account of how I have taught; of you, of how 
you have heard. It is a solemn thought. Solemn ? 

— it is almost overwhelming. With deep repent- 
ance and humiliation for our past neglect, let us 
carry this thought into the future with us, to excite 
us to more fidelity for the time to come. 

There was a time when, both in the morning and 
evening service, these seats were filled. There was 
a time when scarcely a head of a family (if, indeed, 
there was one,) was habitually absent during either 
part of the day. They ' came up in company to the 
house of God,' bringing their families, strengthening 
the hands and encouraging the heart of their min- 
ister, setting an example of the observance of an 
vol. i. 26 



302 REVIEW OF A MINISTRY OF FORTY YEARS. 

institution, I will not say important, but essential, 
to the well-being of society. Many of these are 
now spending a Sabbath in heaven. As their hal- 
lowed images come up, at this hour, in pleasant, yet 
mournful remembrance, they seem, from their high 
abode, to be beckoning us upward. Yes, blessed 
spirits ! by the grace of God, we will join you. 
Such, in this sacred hour, is our solemn purpose. 
Holy Spirit of God ! help us to fulfil it ! 



APPENDIX. 



In the newspapers of 1737, we find an account of the gathering 
of the West church more full than is contained in the records of the 
church. As it has not been inserted in the historical notices of the 
church already printed,* and may be interesting to some readers, it 
is thought best to insert it here. 

1 Thursday, January 6th, 1737. 

1 Monday last, in the afternoon, a new Congregational church was 
gathered in the westerly part of the town ; and as the method of 
gathering such churches here may not be known abroad, we shall 
give the public a brief account of this particular transaction. 

4 A number of Christians, belonging to several congregations in 
this town, judging it convenient to build a house in the westerly 
part thereof, and having carried on the building to a considerable 
state of forwardness, thirteen f of their number, being brethren in 
full communion with five several churches here, and one in full com- 
munion with the First church in Cambridge, having applied to their 
respective churches, obtained letters of dismission to incorporate a 
new church by themselves. Three others, who had not been in full 
communion with any of our churches, offered to join them, and there 
being no objection, either on account of doctrine or conversation, but 
being known and agreeable to them, the others accepted their offer ; 
and, consulting with several ministers to whom they belonged, pre- 
pared a covenant of incorporation, in which they could all agree ; 
and then applied to some of those who had been their pastors, to as- 
sist them in the solemnity of their confederation. Accordingly, on 
said Monday, at three in the afternoon, being the time appointed, 

* 1821, 1831. 

t The names have been given in a note to the Historical Sermon, printed in 1821- 



304 



APPENDIX. 



two of these pastors, namely, the Rev. Mr. Prince* and Foxcroft, t 
met with said seventeen persons, and having received the evidences 
of their said dismissions, made some inquiries of the three proposed 
members, and the others testifying their acceptance of them, Mr. 
Prince, the moderator, beginning with a premonition concerning the 
solemnity of this transaction, they proceeded to pray. Mr. Foxcroft 
then discoursed from Matthew xviii. 20. Then all the company 
standing up, the moderator deliberately read their covenant, which 
they had written fairly in their church record ; to which, at his pro- 
posal, all the seventeen lifted up their hands in token of their consent, 
and then subscribed their names ; the moderator then addressing 
them in such terms as these : — ' We must now own you to be a true 
church of Christ, and invested with all the privileges belonging to 
such an one. And we pray you may have grace to keep this holy 
covenant, and that you and your offspring may enjoy the blessings 
of it.' Mr. Foxcroft then made the closing prayer, and the mod- 
erator pronounced the blessing.' 

May 19th, 1737. 

* Yesterday the Rev. Mr. Wm. Hooper, a gentleman from Scotland, 
brought up at the University of Edinburgh, was ordained pastor of 
the new and West church in this town, lately gathered, when the 
Rev. Mr. Foxcroft began with prayer. Mr. Hooper preached from 
2 Cor. iv. 7. The Rev. Dr. Sewall then prayed. The Rev. Mr. 
Prince read the church-covenant, &e , and prayed, gave the charge 
to Mr. Hooper, then prayed again, and gave another charge to the 
church ; the Rev. Dr. Colman gave the right hand of fellowship, and 
then the Rev. Mr. Hooper appointed the twenty-third psalm, and 
after singing, dismissed the congregation with a blessing.' 

The names of the pewholders in the West church, 1737, were 
Frazier, Vail, Rix, Dupee, Copeland, Parker, Adams, Blanchard, 
Messinger, Henderson, Guttredge, Wlnslow, Watt, Gray, Dorrall, 
Watson, Barton, Waldo, Allen, Tyler, Pemberton, Storer, Kilby, 
Cheever, Jackson, More, Bradford, Daniels, Pierce, Vintenon, Young, 
Sprague, Mason, Allen, Russell, Erving, Traill, Smibert, | Spooner, 
Jenner, Lee, Wells, Blackador, Gooch, Stoddard, Hall, Greenleafe, 
Keyes, Blinn, Scollay, Bemis, Stratton, Barrett, Sigourney, Kilcup, 
Fitch, Strangers, Welch, Billings, John Gooch, H. Berry, Dan. Ber- 

* Of the Old South Church. f 0f the First Church. J Note, Sermon 1820. 



APPEx\DlX. 305 

ry, Dennie, Fairfield, Eb. Berry. At an early period, (previous to 
1750), we find Winter, McNeil, Cragie, Bruce, Turner, Mackay, 
Vassall, Scott, Gridley, Fletcher, Edwards, Brown, Vincol, Gerrish, 
Fowle, Nichols, Deming, Jarvis, Whitworth, Thwing, C. Tilden, 
Ernes, Avery, Freeman. From 1750 to 1790, we have the additional 
names of Atkins, Sanders, Sewall, Rouse, Coffin, Call, Francis, 
Prince, Fleet, Cranch, Cushing, Fitch, Gill, Jones, Foster, Hunt, 
Carnes, Pr : ce, Patten, Inches, Bruce, Cazneau, Salter, Palmer, Eliot, 
Barrett, Brigden, Buckman, Edwards, Bryant, Edes, Brigman, 
Broaders, Shepherd, McKown, Yiburt, Bourne, Barrett, Quincy> 
Belcher, Moffat, Blodgett, Chapman, Coney, Draper, Homer, Lang- 
don, Young, Clark, Swan, Phillips, Walley, Gore, Revere, Green, 
Kneeland, Ridgway, Furness, Morrill, Winthrop, Hudson, Boit, 
Todd, Ivers, Torry, Hurd, S. A. Otis, Skinner, Tyler, Coolidge, 
Baldwin, Procter, Putnam, Parkman, Larkin, Freeman, Lepear, 
Tisdale, Farrington, Carter, Baty, Henshaw, Gay. From 1790 to 
1805, inclusive, Simons, Harmer, (now Hammond), Powars, Kuhn, 
Davis, Redman, Simpson, T. Tilden, Humphries, French, G. W. 
Otis. These, it is supposed, were pewholders, and probably most of 
them proprietors. There are many others who had their children 
baptized, but do not appear as pewholders. 

Mr. Hooper left the society November 19th, 1746, and went to 
England to receive Episcopal ordination, having accepted an invita- 
tion from Trinity church to become their minister, after the death of 
Mr. Davenport. He was suspected by his Congregational brethren 
of unsoundness on some points of theology, — a sermon of his at the 
Thursday lecture gave special offence, — and this circumstance prob- 
ably led to the change in his pastoral relations. I infer this from a 
correspondence which I find in manuscript in the cabinet of the His- 
torical Society. The West parish at this time, according to Doug- 
lass,* stood second in the town in respect to ability and numbers. 

Among the churches enumerated by Douglass is the ' French 
church,' now extinct. This church worshipped in a small brick 
bulding in School street, l erected by some French Protestants, who 
came hither in 1686, after Louis the Fourteenth had revoked the 

* Douglass's Summary, Yol. I., p. 542. The society was dispersed in 1775, and 
a number of the members did not return again. Dr. Howard himself was for a 
time at Annapolis, in Nova Scotia, and invited to settle there in the ministry, but 
declined. 

26* 



306 APPENDIX. 

edict of Nantes, and many thousand Huguenots were obliged to leave 
France.' The descendants of the founders of this house, as they 
formed new connections, gradually dropped off. Those who remain- 
ed were few in number, and the support of a minister was an expense 
they could not well continue. The Rev. Andrew Le Mercier, a worthy 
character, desisted from officiating as minister, and the house was 
for some years unoccupied.* In 1748, the building was purchased 
by some persons who separated from other churches in the town, 
formed a Congregational church, and settled Mr. Andrew Croswell, 
then minister of the church in Groton, Connecticut. His church 
in Boston was not acknowledged as a sister church by the other 
churches in the town and neighborhood. Its minister claimed a seat 
in the Board of Overseers of the College, but it was denied him, — I 
think unjustly. He died in 1785.f 

It is a curious fact in the history of God's providence, that, on the 
dissolution of this Congregational church, the house came into pos- 
session of the Roman Catholics, the persecutors of the original build- 
ers, and was used by them as a place of worship till 1803, when the 
* Church of the Holy Cross ' was consecrated. Thus the persecutors 
themselves, — many of them at least, — persecuted and exiled for 
their religion by those who had no religion, were compelled to wor- 
ship in the humble edifice which the victims of their oppression, in 
their exile, had erected and abdicated. I remember with profound 
respect the excellent ministers of this church, Drs. Matignon and 
Cheverus, whose spirit was truly catholic. With the latter I was 
well acquainted, and can never forget his warm embrace as we part- 
ed, on his leaving America. The Second Universalist Church now 
occupies the ground on which the French church stood, or is very 
near it. 

Dr. Mayhew, the second minister of the West church, one of the 
ablest men our country has produced, was ordained June 17th, 1747, 

* Historical Collections, First Series, Vol. III. 

t Mr. Croswell had been previously invited to take the charge of a Congregational 
church in the town, formed July 18th, 1743, by persons dissatisfied with the doc- 
trine or discipline, or both, of the other churches 5 but, after much correspondence, 
the connection did not take place, and Mr. Ephraim Clark was settled Sept. 30th, 
1748, and was their minister in 1751. Probably a portion of these separatists formed 
the germ of the society over which Mr Croswell was settled. It is singular that 
we have no account of Mr. Clark's society in the histories of Boston, and that it 
has never been reckoned among the Congregational churches. 



APPENDIX. 307 

and died July 9th, 1766, aged forty-six years. Just before his death, 
ou his departure to attend an ecclesiastical council at Rutland, he 
wrote a letter to James Otis, Esq., suggesting the plan of a corres- 
pondence or * communion ' among the colonies, which was afterwards 
adopted, and conduced much to the happy result of their struggle 
for freedom. His discourse on the 30th of January, 1750, was re- 
published at the suggestion of the first President Adams, to corrob- 
orate the claim of this State to the earliest expression of opinions 
which led to the national assertion of independence. Dr. Mayhew 
was a native of Martha's Vineyard. Dr. Howard, the third minis- 
ter, a truly wise and good man, was ordained May 6th, 1767, and 
died August 13th, 1804, aged seventy-one years. He was a native 
of Bridgewater, West Parish. The fourth minister, a native of 
Boston, was ordained January 1st, 1806.* The colleague pastor, a 
native of Freeport, Maine, was ordained March 1st, 1837. 

In the choice of the first minister of this church, the ' church ' 
first voted by themselves, and then again with the ' undertakers,' as 
the proprietors were termed. In the subsequent elections, the church 
and proprietors (in the choice of Mr. Howard ' the church and con- 
gregation ') voted together only ; the records of the church stating, 
— in the case of Drs. Mayhew and Howard, and the present senior 
minister, — that the church gave up the right to lead in the choice, 
and consented to vote with the proprietors.' In the case of Mr. How- 
ard, 'congregation.' 

It does not appear that a confession of faith was required by the 
council at the ordination of any of the ministers. At the ordination 
in 1806, there was much discussion on the subject, pro and con. It 
was finally voted, that, if the pastor elect had prepared anything, 
and wished to present it, he was at liberty to do so. The parish re- 
quested that he would not do it, and he was thus fortified in his own 
determination not to obtrude it. He had prepared a general state- 
ment of his views of theology, which had been seen by his friends, 
Messrs. Channing and Buckminster, and, he believes, by his older 
friend, Dr. Eckley (at his own request), a man of a truly Christian 
spirit, an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile. 

* During his ministry, before the settlement of a colleague, the baptisms recorded 
are 1351, iucluding 19 adults ; the marriages 724 ; and the funerals 1146. Of the 
persons interred, 616 had reached the age of 21 years, 91 that of 70 years, and si 
of 90 years ; — the oldest 93. 



308 APPENDIX. 

At that period, it was customary for the moderator of the council 
(who, on this occasion was Dr. Lathrop, one of the best men I have 
ever known) to inquire of the church and proprietors in public, at 
the commencement of the ordination services, if they still adhered 
to their call of the candidate, and the candidate signified anew his 
acceptance, usually in a short address. 

It was also the practice of this church to send a special invitation 
to the ministers of all denominations to attend the services. There 
existed at that time a better feeling among the ministers of different 
denominations than now exists. In the Congregational church, (to 
mention no others), so far as I know, the relative position of the par- 
ties is about the same, though both have materially changed from the 
faith of those who went before them. There are few, if any, whom 
the l Puritans ' would recognize as their legitimate successors. 

In Pemberton's ' Description of Boston ' {Historical Collections, 
Vol. Ill , 1st series, 1794,) we find this description of the church 
edifice first erected at the west part of the town : 

6 1736, West church in Lynde street,* New Boston, the only 
church in that division of the town, is a well proportioned wooden 
building, with a handsome steeple, in which was a good bell. It was 
situated commodiously to give signals to the continental troops at 
Cambridge on the opposite shore. The British troops suspected it 
had been used for this purpose, and the steeple was taken down by 
them in 1775.' The church itself they used as a barrack. It stood 
in a reverse position to the present house, and the principal entrance 
was from Staniford street. There was a wide opening on the street 



* This street has its name from Chief Justice Lynde, who owned the land through 
which it runs, and which, before the laying out of the street, was called Lynde's pas- 
ture. The street has had the fortune to retain its name. Middlecott street, in this 
neighborhood, has been changed to Bowdoin street, though there was a peculiar pro- 
priety in the former name, as Dr. Middlecott gave the land to the town for the pur- 
pose of a street. Chambers street, so named for the maternal ancestors of Thomas 
Russell, who once owned the land, is in danger of being metamorphosed into Chamber 
street. Gooch street, named for Deacon Gooch, who lived in the street, has been 
corrupted into Gouch street. One person, now living, (perhaps more than one) has 
lived in seven streets, without changing his j'lace of residence. The name of a 
street should not be lightly changed. It may be connected with some circumstance, 
the memory of which it may be interesting, not to say extremely important, to re- 
tain. 



APPENDIX. 309 

and the ascent to the church was over the greensward.* The pulpit 
was on the west side of the church. The pews were the large square 
pews ; such was the fashion of that day. 

In 1805, at the east corner of Lynde street and Cambridge street 
stood the double wooden house which now stands there, and has been 
recently purchased by the parish f The east tenement had been 
the residence of Dr. Mayhew, — the west, of Dr. Howard, who after- 
wards lived in a house on the north side of the church. On the 
other side of the street, opposite to Dr. Howard's residence, was the 
house of Seth Wells, Esq. then recently built. On the west corner 
of Lynde street, fronting on Cambridge street, was a new brick 
house, erected by Harrison G. Otis, Esq., who is now probably the 
only survivor of those who were baptized by Dr. Mayhew. On the 
west side of Staniford street, where the house of her son-in-law, Dr. 
Shattuck, now stands, were the house and garden of Mrs. Davis, 
whose ancestors' were among the earliest in the parish ; and on the 
opposite corner of the street, the house and extensive garden of 
Mungo Mackay, Esq., whose son is. the present treasurer, and his 
grandson (son of S. W. Hunt, Esq.,) the clerk of the parish. This 
house had been previously occupied by Richard Lechmere, Esq., a 
gentleman of fortune, highly respectable and estimable, who left the 
country in the Revolution, and died in Bristol, England. It is from 
him that * Lechmere's Point ' derives its name. On the opposite 
side of Cambridge street was the brick house now standing, then the 
residence of Thomas Dennie, Esq. ) and next to this, the house of 
Mr. Ridgway. Mr. Wells, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Mackay, Mr. Hunt, Mr. 

K See ante, p. 290. 

t It has since been sold, and the proceeds given to the city, with the understand- 
ing that the land shall be left open as a square, and be ornamented with trees 
and shrubs and a fountain. 

The following extract from the Christian Register will preserve the remembrance 
of an incident not without interest. 

i The square in front of the West church in this city has appropriately received 
the name of the senior pastor of that church. The Transcript thus speaks of an 
interesting incident which took place at noon on the 12th instant. 

1 Dr. Lowell planted four trees and several shrubs within the enclosure. They were 
selected at Elmwood, his residence in Cambridge. Two oaks from acorns planted in 
1=3S by his son, now the Rector of Christ Church, Newark, were placed in the recess 
at the side of the church edifice. At the request of Dr. Lowell, no publicity was 
given to the transaction. His children, a number of his parishioners, and a few 
friends were present-' 



310 



APPENDIX. 



Dennie and Mr. Kidgway, were all members of the parish, and their 
memories are honored. Between Hancock and Belknap streets stood 
a large distillery, happily soon afterwards demolished, and its place 
supplied by a range of brick dwelling-houses. The aspect of this 
part of the city, as it may be supposed, is wholly changed. What- 
ever streets were laid out, they had but few houses in them, and the 
general appearance was that of a thinly settled place, with large, 
unoccupied spaces, pastures and marsh-land. Between * West Bos- 
ton ' and the ' North End ' was the mill-pond, into which the spirit 
of speculation soon after transferred Beacon Hill, a beautiful conical 
eminence, at the base of which the State House was erected, and 
which was alike conducive to the health and ornament of the town. 
A causeway extended from Leverett street to Prince street. The 
' New Almshouse ' stood on the banks of Charles river, on or near 
' Barton's Point.' It was taken down in 1825. Near this point Mr. 
Blackstone, the first English inhabitant of Boston, is supposed to 
have resided in 1630. 

The old church was taken down in March, 1806, and the new 
church* was opened for public worship November 26th of the same 
year. The services were performed by the pastor. The text of the 
sermon was Psalm c. 4, 5. It was the day of annual thanksgiving. 
The following hymn, written for the occasion by Mrs. Morton, was 
sung : 

f In vain would mortal hands prepare 

The Temple's bless'd abode, 
Unless, supreme in mercy there, 
Descend the accepting God. 

c In vain the warbled prayer we raise, 
Though human, seems divine, 
Unless the heart's responsive praise, 
Inspiring God, be thine. 

( Such was a Mayhew's soul of zeal, 
Adoring Thee with fear ; 
He taught the sinner's heart to feel 
Th' all-seeing God was near. 



* The expense of building the new church was $34,984-99. The sum realized at 
the sale of the pews on the lower floor, which were first offered, was $49,555. 



APPENDIX. 311 



1 With milder light a Howard shone ; 
To him persuasion given, 
He charm'd the hope to Thee alone, 
Parent of earth and heaven. 

{ Such may our youthful pastor prove, 
The words of life to feel ; 
Be his a Howard's pitying love, 
A Mayhew's heavenly zeal. 

{ O Thou ! to whom the solar blaze 

Seems but a shadowy zone, 
To Thee our sacred dome we raise, 

Jehovah! — God alone!' 

The proprietors of the church, at the time of the call of the pres- 
ent senior minister, as far as ascertained, were Messrs. *John Avery, 
* Joseph Blake, *John Carnes, * Andrew Calhoun, Jonas Coolidge, 
*Charles dishing, ^Thomas Dennie, # John Derby, *Ebenezer Eaton, 
*Samuel Eliot, *William Foster, *Jeremiak Gardner, *Martin Gay, 
*Samuel Gore, * Joseph Heard, *Ebenezer Herring, Jr.. *John C. 
Howard, *Samuel W. Hunt, *John Hurd, *Thomas K. Jones, *John 
Kuhn, Caleb Loring, *Braddock Loring, * Jonathan Loring, *Mungo 
Mackay, *Asa Page, * James Prince, *Joseph Ridgway, *William 
Todd, *Samuel Todd, *John Tucker, *Bill Vose, *Thomas Walley, 
*Seth Wells, *Mrs. Carter, *Mrs. Davis and *Mr3. Job Prince. 

There is reference on the 3d page of the Discourse to an officer of 
the church. It was Charles Cushing, Esq., one of the purest and 
best of men. The other deacon at that time, John Avery, Esq., was 
for many years Secretary of the Commonwealth, having the confi- 
dence of all parties. 

In 1805, there were nine Congregational churches in Boston, t 
the West church being ranked the ninth, though it was, in fact, the 
eighth, as the church in Federal street did not join the Congrega- 
tional communion till 1787. 

The minister of the West church, (now the senior minister) is a 

*A11 are deceased but the fifth named. (1855.) 

t There are now twenty-nine. There were then ten churches of all the other de- 
nominations : there are now forty-four. This statement does not include the 
chapels of the ministry at large. 



312 APPENDIX. 

Congregationalist, as it respects the outworks of the house of God, 
but belongs to no sect as it regards the doctrines of theology, nor 
has any exclusiveness as it regards his Congregationalism. The 
Quaker, the Presbyterian, the Protestant Episcopalian, the Baptist 
and the Methodist Episcopalian, have all preached in his pulpit, and 
all, except the first, in the usual Sabbath exercise. It is among the 
pleasant recollections of his ministry that it has been so. He cer- 
tainly differs from his Unitarian brethren, as well as from others, on 
some important points, — to him, at least, important, — but he ad- 
mits in them the right of private judgment which he claims for 
himself, and he has esteemed himself favored in having had an 
affectionate intercourse of so many years with such good men, and 
faithful, devoted ministers. He belongs neither to the ' Pastoral 
Association ' (Calvinistic), nor to the ' Unitarian Association ;' but 
he wishes well to both, in as far as they are adapted to promote the 
glory of God, and the interests of pure and undefiled religion, — 
and no farther. 



CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORT. 

The following documents relate to a transaction which took place 
a little previous to the publication of this volume, though a good 
while after the first printing of the preceding sermon. The author 
yields to the judgment of others, rather than his own, in giving 
them this publicity. He does it, as he trusts, with a deep sense of 
un worthiness, and with fervent gratitude. 

February, 1855. 



To the West Parish in Boston : 

My Beloved Friends: As I am disabled, in a great measure, from 
the performance of parochial duty, and there is no probability that 
I shall soon, if ever, be permitted to resume it, I think it proper to 
resign my salary, as I have long wished and intended to do. 

Whilst, however, I thus release you from all pecuniary obligation 
to me, and resign my claim to any stated stipend, I must not be un- 
derstood to relinquish the privilege of performing any service to you 
as your pastor, in co-operation with my colleague, which you may 
desire from me, and it may be in my power to perform. 

With a heartfelt sense of your great and uniform affection and 
liberality towards me, and with fervent wishes and prayers for your 
best welfare, and that a union which has been so happy on earth, 
may be renewed and perpetuated in heaven, 
I am, my beloved friends, 

Your affectionate friend and senior pastor, 

CHARLES LOWELL. 

To the West Parish in Boston, April 28, 1854. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO WHOM THE ABOVE LET- 
TER WAS REFERRED. 

The Committee appointed to take into consideration the communi- 
cation from the senior pastor, under date of the twenty-eighth of 
April, resigning any further claim upon the society for a salary, in 

vol. i. 27 



314 APPENDIX. 

that relation, — and to prepare suoh a reply thereto as they should 
deem most suitable to the occasion, to be submitted to the society at 
the adjourned meeting, to be holden this^day, respectfully 

Repokt : 

That the senior pastor was ordained over this society, — then con- 
sisting of only forty proprietors of pews, — in the year eighteen 
hundred and six ; not only with entire unanimity, but with a zeal- 
ous joy, that rarely sanctifies even this sacred relationship. 

His devotion to his pastoral duties was so earnest and unremitted, 
and his pulpit exercises were so universally acceptable, that in a 
very few years it became necessary to take down the house in which 
they then worshipped, and to erect that now occupied in its place ; 
and which, immediately after its completion, embraced within its 
walls not less than three hundred families, as regular attendants 
upon his ministration at this altar. His fervent piety and eminently 
kind and conciliatory manners, which rendered him exceedingly dear 
to his own people, with whom he stood in the relations of affectionate 
and confiding friendship, and his eminently disinterested benev- 
olence, which recognized the ties of human brotherhood with all 
whose happiness or welfare he could promote, soon caused his cleri- 
cal services to be sought for with avidity by the poor and the afflict- 
ed, not only of his own parish, but quite extensively throughout the 
city, and especially in the western portion of- it ; so that he, in effect, 
well nigh became a minister at large among the poor and destitute, 
long before any regular establishment of that most useful and hon- 
orable office, as an independent vocation. 

The earnest, self-denying and unremitted labors that gradually 
heaped upon him, became, in process of time, too great for the men- 
tal and physical strength of any man, and rendered it expedient for 
his sake and that of the people whom he had thus served for thirty- 
one years, that a colleague should be associated with him j and in 
the year 1837, our beloved junior pastor was ordained in the pasto- 
ral office over us, who has but too faithfully trodden the same path 
of over-zealous devotion to his high sense of duty and our spiritual 
welfare j and now exhausted by an almost unprecedented amount of 
intellectual labor and pastoral exertion, is seeking upon the ocean 
wave and on foreign shores, renewed health and energy, under the 
blessing of God to be again devoted, though, we trust, not to be 
again too far sacrificed, to our religious welfare. 



• 



APPENDIX. 



315 



On that occasion, Dr. Lowell released the society from the obli- 
gations they were under by their previous contract, to pay him an 
annual salary of two thousand dollars ; and placed the amount to 
be by him received thereafter at their pleasure and discretion. 

The members of it, however, by a unanimous vote, expressive of 
their grateful sense of the inestimable value of his long and faithful 
services, in building up and maintaining the society as one of the 
largest and most flourishing in the city, and more especially of the 
spiritual influences of his ministrations upon themselves and their 
families, determined to continue his salary undiminished. 

Again, in the year 1822, after his return from abroad, and after 
the disastrous loss of a large portion of his property, he resigned 
his salary, requesting the society to make to him thereafter only such 
compensation as the members thereof in their wisdom, might think 
proper ; and again the society, with earnest and affectionate ex- 
pression of their gratitude for his past services, and continuing 
influences,- and their sense of duty to themselves as well as to him, 
declined by an unanimous vote to permit any reduction. 

In the year 1849, when the purchase of the square in front of the 
church was in agitation, Dr. Lowell, in a communication expressive 
of the desire that he had entertained, from the time when his col- 
league was ordained, to relinquish all, or the chief portion, of his 
salary, and of the * sad disappointment he had felt in his inability to 
do so, relinquished one- fourth part thereof, stating that he desired 
this arrangement to be considered as respectfully insisted upon j 
and the society reluctantly acquiesced, thus reducing the amount to 
$1500, being the same paid to the junior pastor, upon whom has 
devolved nearly all the duties of the pastoral office. And now by 
his letter of the twenty-eighth of the past month, our senior pastor, 
reciting that he is at present disabled in a great measure from the 
performance of parochial duty, and that there is no probability that 
he shall soon, if ever, be permitted to resume it, states that he thinks 
it proper to resign his salary, as he has long since wished and in- 
tended to do ; though retaining the privilege, as he is pleased to 
term it, of performing any service to us as a pastor, in co-operation 
with his colleague, which we may desire from him, and which it 
may be in his power to perform. 

Your committee are unanimously of opinion, that in view of the 
relation so long subsisting between the senior pastor and this society, 



3J6 



APPENDIX. 



and in the remembrance that the strength of his youth and of his 
manhood has been spent in the most faithful devotion to its arduous 
and responsible duties, and of the eminent success and usefulness of 
his services, and of the affectionate and tender regard he has ever 
manifested towards the people of his charge, collectively and indi- 
vidually, — such relinquishment of his salary cannot be permitted 
with just regard for our own self-respect or of our duty towards 
him ; and are happy in the belief that such is the universal senti- 
ment pervading all members of the society. 

They, recognizing the principle that the pecuniary burthens of a 
religious association should be borne in proportion to their respective 
individual abilities rather than in any ratio of taxation upon the 
pews, have always contributed cheerfully and generously for all 
worthy objects presented for their consideration, and have, in this 
spirit, recently placed the society in a situation to do some measure 
of justice in raising the hitherto inadequate salary of the junior 
pastor, and granting to him a recess for the restoration of his health 
and strength, and at the same time to continue the salary of the 
senior pastor unimpaired, without burthening those whose disposi- 
tions might otherwise have led them to an onerous sacrifice, and 
thus have removed the only justifying necessity that could have 
rendered the acceptance of such relinquishment just or becoming. 

Although, by the providence of God, he is now, after a long life, 
eminently devoted to His service and our spiritual welfare, disabled 
from rendering the ministerial and parochial services, formerly so 
instructive and dear to many of us, alike in our joys and our griefs, — 
and which have lighted the path of more than a generation of wor- 
shippers in this house to a higher world j the remembrance of what 
he has been to us and to our fathers j and the consciousness of the 
influences of his ministrations upon ourselves and upon multitudes 
around us j and the sublime spectacle of Christian humility and 
faith exhibited by him under trials and sufferings almost without 
parallel, still remain with us ; and we may well account it a cher- 
ished privilege, and not a duty merely, to do all that we may to cheer 
the remainder of his pilgrimage by every expression in our power of 
continued love and respect, and of our desire to preserve as sacred in 
every particular, that relation between him and us, as pastor and 
people, which God in His providence may permit us to retain. 



APPENDIX. -317 

Your committee, therefore, respectfully recommend the adoption 
of the following preamble and vote : 

The communication of the senior pastor of this society, under date 
of the twenty-eighth of April last, pressing a desire to relinquish all 
further claim upon it for pecuniary compensation, having been sub- 
mitted to a large committee embracing a general representation of 
all members of the society, and they having unanimously reported 
against compliance with the proposition, for the reasons set forth in 
their report, and in which, all being present, fully and cordially con- 
cur, — therefore 

Voted, That the chairman of this meeting and the clerk of the 
society, be requested to forward to him a copy of the report and of 
this vote, with a respectful request that he will permit us to continue 
the present relations between him and us, as pastor and people, un- 
changed. 

Respectfully submitted, 

CHARLES G. LORING, 
(Signed), ALEX. WADSWORTH, 

CHAS. G. GREENE, 
CHAS. FAULKNER, 
JOHN T. HEARD, 
RICHARD SOULE, 
OLIVER HOLMAN, 
WM. F. WHITNEY, 
GEORGE W. OTIS, 
JOHN KUHN. 



Boston, May 14, 1854. 
A true copy : 



John Kuhn, 

Clerk West Boston Society. 



At an adjourned meeting of the ' West Boston Society,' held on 
the fourteeenth day of May, 1854, it was 

Voted unanimously, That the foregoing report be accepted, and 
that the preamble and vote therein recommended by the committee, 
be adopted. 

Attest : 

John Kuhn, Clerk W. B. S. 
27" 



318 



APPENDIX. 



The proceedings of the parish in reference to the communication 
of the senior pastor, were transmitted to him with the following let- 
ter from the chairman and secretary of the meeting. 

Boston, May 16, 1854. 

Rev. and dearly beloved Senior Pastor : 

"We have been commissioned by the ' West Boston Society,' over 
which you have so long presided with the meekness and fidelity well 
becoming a Christian minister, to transmit to you the result of their 
action in relation to your late communication to them. 

We perform the duty assigned to us with almost unspeakable 
pleasure. 

Herewith please to receive a copy of certain documents, which 
have been deliberately considered and passed upon by the grateful 
people of your charge, to the weight of which we can add nothing, 
were we at liberty to do so. 

The report, preamble and vote which the society have unanimous- 
ly adopted, will speak for themselves ; and in a manner too, we trust, 
that cannot be mistaken by you, our dearly cherished friend and 
senior minister. 

In the performance of our commission, permit us to say with all 
possible tenderness and regard for your own feelings, that could you 
be restored to such a degree of health as would permit you to mingle 
with your sympathizing people, as formerly, and again measure the 
depth of their affection for you, you would not again pain them with 
an allusion even, to the subject embraced in your late communication 
to them. 

Most respectfully and affectionately, 

EMMONS RAYMOND, Chairman. 

John Kuhn, Clerk TV. B. S. 



My Beloved Friends : 

I am much affected by this renewed proof of your affection for me. 
It has humbled while it has been most grateful to me. I would I 
could believe that I was in any good measure worthy of all you are 
pleased to say to me. It is known only to Him who knoweth all 



APPENDIX. 319 

things, how far short I have come of what I had desired to be and 
to do. 

Your united and earnest protest against my relinquishment of my 
salary, leaves me no alternative in regard to it. My regard for your 
feelings compels me to consent that my salary should remain, at least 
at present, the same that it now is. It is not a small consideration 
with me in doing this, that you may feel yourselves at liberty to call 
upon me for the discharge of any ministerial duty towards you 
which it may be in my power to perform. 

It is my fervent hope, if my life is spared, that I may be able to 
do you some further service, and thus manifest my gratitude to God, 
as well as my affection for you. 

CHARLES LOWELL. 



L E T T E E 

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN BOARD 
OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

IN REFERENCE TO THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN GREECE. 
[Re-published from the paper's of Boston, of August, 1842.] 

Boston, Feb. 5, 1842. 

My dear sir, — The death of our respected friend, 
Lieutenant Governor Winthop, has interrupted our 
meetings in reference to the Greeks, but it has not 
diminished, I am sure, the interest we feel in them, 
or made us less anxious that their cry for help 
should be heard and responded to by those whose 
spiritual privileges are greater than theirs. 

When I was in Athens, I was introduced by my 
friend, Mr. Perdicaris, to the celebrated chieftain 
Mavromichalis, or Petrom Bey, the prince of Maina, 
a part of the ancient Sparta. At this interview, he 
expressed in glowing language, and with deep emo- 
tion, his gratitude to my countrymen for the success 
they had afforded the Greek nation whilst struggling 
for independence ; and for the interest manifested 
by the Christian community here, in the intellec- 
tual and moral regeneration of Greece. He spoke 
of the school which had been established by the 
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 



LETTER IN REFERENCE TO EDUCATION, ETC. 321 

Missions, in his native country, Maina, and of the 
great good it had done within its limited sphere? 
and of the earnest desire of the Mainotes that it 
might prove the precursor of the extensive diffusion 
of the means of education among them. 

On my visiting Athens a second time, on my 
return from Egypt and Syria, the aged chief, hear- 
ing of my arrival, and fearing that I might not 
again call upon him, came himself to my lodgings, 
to repeat the subject of our former conversations' 
I can never forget the kindling eye, the animated, 
the earnest expostulation, the fervid eloquence of 
the old man, as he urged the claims of his country- 
men upon my sympathy, and through me, as he 
trusted, upon the sympathy of the American pub- 
lic. 

In my first discourse to my people after my re- 
turn home, I briefly presented their claims, as well 
as the claims of missions generally in the region I 
had visited, and determined to follow up these in- 
culcations, both in the pulpit and from the press. 

The dispensations of Providence, requiring nearly 
all my time for domestic duties, which was not oc- 
cupied by parochial labors, have prevented me, 
hitherto, from fulfilling my purpose. 

At a season of much anxiety of mind, I received ■ 
a letter from Mavromichalis. It was shown to sev- 
eral friends in whom I thought it might excite an 
interest in favor of its object, and I determined to 
bring it before my own people, and the public ; but 
it was unfortunately mislaid, and though sought 



322 LETTER IN REFERENCE TO 

for with much diligence, has been but recently 
recovered. I transmit you a copy of it for publica- 
tion, and as it is a voice from Sparta, in tones 
touching and eloquent, I trust it will not be uttered 
in vain. 

i My honored and reverend sir, — Having had 
the good fortune of becoming personally acquainted 
with you during your visit to Athens, and having 
witnessed your zeal for the cause of education in 
Greece in general, and in my native Sparta in par- 
ticular, I take the liberty to recall myself to you by 
my present letter, and to request that you would be 
so good as to interest the benevolent institutions of 
America, the friends of Greece and of the Spar- 
tans among you, and induce them to contribute 
something for the establishment of common schools 
in Laconia, which, owing to the poverty of the 
people, is unable to secure the blessings of educa- 
tion, and that, too, when the inhabitants, though 
ignorant, are far from being deficient in love of 
learning. 

' The common school established at Acropolis, the 
capital of Laconia, by your praiseworthy country- 
men, the Rev. Mr. Houston and the Rev. Mr. Ley- 
"burn, is making good progress, and is promising much 
for that part of the country ; but, owing to its limited 
means, its benefits are confined to the Demos of the 
capital and to a few neighboring districts. The in- 
crease of means will necessarily tend to increase the 
sphere of education. The desire which I feel in 



EDUCATION IN GREECE. 323 

my old age, and its consequent infirmity, is to aid 
my compatriots in acquiring the blessings of edu- 
cation, without which they cannot be truly happy ; 
and for the aid of this object, I address myself to 
you, and entreat your co-operation. 
I remain, with sincere esteem, 
Very respectfully yours, 

Petrom Bey, Mavromichalis. 

Mavromichalis alludes to my ' zeal for the cause 
of education in Greece.' I should have been cold 
indeed, if I could have visited the most interesting 
institution of Mr. and Mrs. Hill, the Episcopal 
Missionaries in Athens, and the schools which the 
Greeks themselves, in their zeal, have got up, with- 
out having my spirit stirred within me. No descrip- 
tion can give an adequate idea of the intenseness 
of that ardor with which the young Greeks engage 
in the pursuit of learning — inheriting the spirit, as 
in many instances they bear the names, of their 
renowned ancestors. The schools are overflowing, 
and hundreds are pressing for admission who can- 
not obtain it. 

At the University I found them outside the door, 
bending forward and eagerly catching the sounds 
of instruction from the lecturer within, — < daily 
watching at the gates, and waiting at the posts of 
the doors.' Nor is this pursuit of learning confined 
to the young. All ages, especially ecclesiastics, 
who had only learned to read, or could not read at 
all, are seen with their books, on their way to 



324 LETTER IN REFERENCE TO 

school ; the oldest placing themselves with docility 
in the same form with the youthful learner. 

I would that I could introduce my country- 
women into the school for girls, for, alas ! there is 
but one, besides the American schools, at Athens. 
I should need no other argument to move their sym- 
pathy. But I must only tell them how these inter- 
esting children, of their own sex, crowded around 
us, exhibiting the little specimens of their ingenu- 
ity and industry, and how delighted they were when 
told that their case should be stated to American 
women, who would not fail to furnish them with 
additional materials for learning, and to enable 
others to share with them the privileges they en- 
joyed. Will not our countrywomen redeem the 
pledge we gave on their behalf? Will they not 
send, or furnish the means of procuring books and 
charts and instruments, and afford other Greek 
females, too, the means of being instructed and 
qualified to instruct others. 

The University of Athens has been instituted, 
not out of the abundance, but out of the penury of 
the Greeks. They have laid the foundation, — will 
not the young men in our colleges and other semi- 
naries, bring each a stone to aid in completing this 
temple of science ? Will they not form associa- 
tions, for the purpose of extending to their Greek 
brethren a portion of the advantages with which 
they themselves are so abundantly blessed ? 

The first American school in Greece, was that 
established by your Board at Syra, in 1827. It 



EDUCATION IN GREECE. 325 

still exists under the name of the ' American School,' 
though it is supported by the church Missionary 
Society in England. It contains, I believe, between 
six and seven hundred pupils, of both sexes. This 
school, with a school commenced in 1829 by Dr. 
King, in the Island of Tenos, (the first of the kind 
ever known there,) and that of Mr. and Mrs. Hill, 
before mentioned, have given a most salutary im- 
pulse to the cause of education in Greece. Indeed, 
without that impulse, probably little, if anything, 
would have been, as yet, effected. Of the devo- 
tion of Mrs. Hill and the young ladies, her assist- 
ants, to their good work, I can hardly speak too 
highly. 

The American Schools are connected with the 
American Missions; — and I have a few words to 
say on the subject of these Missions. I visited the 
Baptist Missionary at Patras, and the Episcopal 
and Congregational Missionaries at Athens and 
Constantinople, and the Missionaries of your Board 
at Smyrna and Cyprus, and Beyroot and Jerusa- 
lem. 

With some of them I remained several weeks, 
and with all of them a sufficient length of time to 
become acquainted with their operations and their 
prospects of success. They are unostentatiously, 
but steadily, judiciously and diligently, pursuing 
their work. This work is, the infusing of the life 
and spirit of Christianity into the Greek and Ar- 
menian churches, which i have a name to live, but are 
dead? 

vol. i. 28 



326 LETTER IN REFERENCE TO 

If the American Missionaries, or any other mis- 
sionaries, shall be the instruments in the hand of 
God, of resuscitating these lifeless bodies, a work will 
have been accomplished worth all the labor and 
expense that have been, or ever will be devoted to 
it. They will be the instruments of raising thou- 
sands^and tens of thousands from the most degra- 
ded state of ignorance, superstition and vice, to 
light, and rational religion and virtue ; — from the 
slavery ' of sin and satan, to the glorious liberty of 
the sons of God. 5 

This the missionaries are aiming to do, by teach- 
ing the young ; by preaching ; and by translating, 
printing and circulating, not covertly, but openly 
and with the sanction of authority, the Holy Scrip- 
tures, and works of science and literature, and 
practical piety. As much has been done as ought 
to have been expected in the time and under the 
circumstances, — though certainly not as much as 
is to be done, and may be done ; — yes, and, by 
God's blessing, will be done. The ground has been 
broken, seed has been sown, and in many instances 
has already germinated and sprung up and brought 
forth fruit. 

I need not particularize. You have the reports 
of your missionaries. It is for me only, who have 
been an eye-witness, to add my testimony to the 
truth of those reports. It is impartial testimony ; 
for, though a Congregationalist, as regards the out- 
works of the House of God, in theology I belong 



EDUCATION IN GREECE. 327 

to no sect. I have no name but Christian, and no 
creed but the Word of God. 

The missionaries, Baptist, Episcopalian and 
Congregational, with whom it was my happiness 
to become acquainted, are, in my opinion, sensible, 
liberal-minded, good men, laboring side by side in 
their noble undertaking, without jealousy, nay, I 
trust, with the kindest feelings towards one another. 
They have, indeed, the same object; — not to make 
proselytes to their denomination, but converts to 
vital, evangelical religion. 

Their labors are exclusively directed to nominal 
Christians ; but, in the East, there will be a reflex 
influence on the disciples of the Koran, Indeed, 
already the American Missionaries have been con- 
sulted, and have furnished the model of a school in 
Constantinople, if they have not, as I think has 
been the case, afforded important aid in its instruc- 
tion. 

I am aware that there are those who think the 
Mohammedans may as well remain as they are. 
The honesty of the Turk is often presented in con- 
trast with the knavery of the Christian. If the 
Christian is less honest than the Turk, it is not the 
fault of his religion, but because he is less observant 
of its requisitions. But let us look at the reverse 
of this picture. The Turks, in general, are igno- 
rant, lazy, sensual. The most intelligent among 
them, indeed, in many instances, are infidels in 
regard to Mohammedanism, and very little observ- 
ant of the precepts of their bible. The late Sultan 



328 LETTER IN REFERENCE TO 

died of delirium tremens. I was in Constantinople 
at the time of his death, and had the fact I have 
stated from undoubted authority. Is there any 
enlightened and virtuous American who would 
exchange his condition with that of a follower 
of Mohammed? 

There are those, again, who think that all we 
have to give should be given to Home Missions. 
The homely proverb is often quoted ' charity begins 
at home.' It is true, but it does not end there. 
The Samaritan who bound up the wounds of the 
Jew who had fallen among thieves on his way to 
Jericho, did not think that it ended there ; if he had, 
the wounded man would have perished. The apos- 
tles were commissioned to preach the gospel to 
every creature, beginning at Jerusalem. And how 
did they fulfill the commission ? Did they wait till 
all Jerusalem was converted before they went to the 
Gentiles ? The devout centurion to whom Peter 
was sent, may answer this question. 

Let those whe believe that charity should begin 
and end at home, take care and be faithful in doing 
their own duty at home ; and let those who feel the 
force of the admonition, These things ought ye to 
have done^ and not to leave the other undone^ do what 
they will with their own. 

For myself, I am in favor both of Home Missions 
and of Foreign Missions ; and will do what I may, 
— little, indeed, it is, — to help them forward. I 
honor the man, let him bear what name he will, 
who, forsaking country and friends, the home of his 



EDUCATION IN GREECE. 329 

affections and early associations, the land of his 
fathers' sepulchres, goes forth with the Banner of the 
Cross in his hand, and the glad news of salvation 
on his lips, to carry the bread of life to those who 
are perishing for the lack of knowledge. I bid him 
God speed. He has my fervent good wishes, and 
my poor, yet fervent prayers, for his success. And 
in every measure of success which I witness, or of 
which I hear, ' I do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.' 

I am, dear Sir, 

Respectfully and affectionately 
Your friend and brother, 
(Signed) CHARLES LOWELL. 



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